

PRACnCA 




B^ 



"""MlWIilUlllt"'* 








Copyrighted 1903 

by 

GEO. E. HOWARD, 

Washiugrton, D. C. 



The FEATHER'S 
PRAGTIGAI2 

PIGE0N Boo 



BY J. C. LONG. 

Profusely Illvistrated. 




Published by 

GEO, E. HOWARD, 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Rscaived 

MAY 5 1903 

Copyngnt tiury 

CLASS (V XXc. No 

COPY B. 



Pviblisher's Note. 



Those who are interested in pig-eons will appreciate fully 
this contribution to pig-eon literature by the eminent author^ 
J. C. Long, who has for a life-time devoted himself to the 
study of these dainty and attractive pets. Mr. Long's experi- 
ence as a breeder and judge of pigeons admirably fitted him 
for the task, and the publisher is pleased to recommend this 
book to everyone who cares for the pleasures of pigeon keeping. 
In this connection he desires to acknowledge the meritorious 
work of illustrating by R. Clements. The plates shown in 
this book are from brush-drawings portraying artistic skill 
and are fine portraitures of the specimens they represent, and 
can but prove of untold value to every fancier and breeder. 

^/}e Publisher. 



• CONTENTS. 

Page. 

The Origin of Fancy Pigeons - - - " ^ 

Accommodations for Pigeons, - - " "43 

Food and Feeding, - - " " " r. 

What Varieties to Breed, - - - " 63 

Mating for Breeding, - - " ' " „- 

The Pleasure of Pigeon Keeping, - - - "119 

Diseases of Pigeons, - - " <-, 1 " nn 

Diseases of the Head, Brain, and Nervous System, - l^u 

Apoplexy, ----"'" ^22 

Y^^'^'F'. ' ' ' '.-■-"-" 122 

Paralysis, - - - " 123 

Inflammation of the Eye, - - - " " ^^ 

Spouts, - - - - - " " ^24 

Megrims, -■"'"". 126 

Tumors, - - - " " ,26 

Roup. ' - ' 128 

Crossed Bills, - - • - " -28 

^^P' ■ " ■ ■ " " ' - ' 130 

Smallpox, - - - " ■ ,-j^ 

Diseases of the Leungs and Throat, - - '130 

Asthma, - - - " ' " 'l3l 

Consumption or Going Eight, - - - 132 

Canker, - - - " " " " ^tc 

Inflammation of the Eungs, - - - " " |^c 

Diseases of the Digestive Organs, '"'135 

Crop Bound, - - - " " " " ^^y 

Foul Crop, ------- ^ 

Diarrhoea, - - - " " " ' ^^^ 

Cholera, ---"""" .^g 

Worms, - - - - " ■ "" j^28 

Eiver Complaint, - - - " " ' ' .„ 

Prolapsus or Fallen Gizzard, - - - '140 

Constipation, - • - " " ~ ^,q 

Diseases of the Skin, ----"" .„ 

Scurf or Mange, """''' 141 

Molting, - - • . - - " '141 

Inflammation of the Oil-Gland, " ' ' ' :,42 

Diseases of the Eimbs, - - - ' ' |^ 

Corns, ----""" ,4^ 

Cramp, - - - - " " " "143 

Diseases of the Egg-Organs, ' ' " " 143 

Egg Bound, 4g 

Barrenness, - - - . " ' ^ .^ 

Fractures and Wounds, - - - " "147 

Broken Beaks, - - - ' " " ^.^ 

Torn Crops and other Flesh Wounds, - - "us 

Insect Pests, ---■'' ^^g 

Lice, - - - - ■ " ^cQ 

Feather-Eice, ----"' ^^ 

Mites, - - - - - - " " 1C1 

Fleas, - 35^ 

Ticks, its 

Pigeons as Food, --"'"' t^T 

Technical Terms, ^''•* 



lylST OF II^IvUSTRATIONS. 

Pag-e. 

Aviary for Lofts, Plan of, - - - - - 17 

Archangel, ------- 91 

Barb, -.-..--- 7i 

Bluette, - - 139 

Blondinette, Black-Laced, ----- i45 

Carrier Cock, Blue, . - . . . 69 

Dragoon, Blue, .. - - - - 87 

Fountain, Water, ------ 35 

Fantail, - - . - - - - 59 

Fantail, Black Saddleback, . . - - 65 

House, A Combination, ----- 15 

House for the Back Yard, Plan of, - - - 22 

House for the Back Yard, A, - - - - 23 

House, Duplex, Plan of, - - - - - 26 

House, Duplex, The, - - - - - 27 

House, Simple Continuotis, Plan of, . - - 30 

House, Simple Continuous, A, - - - - 31 

Hopper, Wooden Food, ----- 35 

Hopper, Metal Food or Water Fountain, - - - 35 

Heads, Diagram, --.--- 164 

Heads, Diagram, ------ 167 

Jacobin, Black, ..-.-. 79 

Legs, Diagram of, ------ 166 

Magpie, Black, .---.- 83 

Nests, Plan of, 39 

Nun, 153 

Owl, African, ------- 99 

Owl, English, .-.--- 103 

Pigeons, Basket for Shipping or Carrying, - - 9 

Pigeon, Method of Holding, . . - - 9 

Pigeons, All Kinds of Perches for, - - - 13 

Pigeon, Points of a, - - - - - 162 

Pouter Cock, Blue, ------ 41 

Pouter Cock, Black-pied, . - - - 47 

Pouter, Pigmy, .--_-- 53 

Satinette, ------- 133 

Tumbler Cock, Almond, - - - - - 109 

Tumbler, Muffed Rosewing, - - - . US 

Tumbler Cock, Muffed-Silver, Long-faced, - - 121 

Turbit Hen, Yellow, ----- 125 

Turbit, Black-wing, - - - - - - 129 

Wing, Diagram of, ----- 165 



CHAPTER I. 

The Origin of Fancy Pigeons. 

The term pigeon is derived from the Latin word 
Pipio, which translated Uterally means a nesthng bird 
that "pipes" or cries out, or as we know it in America 
a "squealer." The pigeon proper belongs to a family of 
birds known as Columbidae, comprising all the different 
varieties of doves, as well as pigeons, and forming the 
genus Coluraba. They are generally classed among 
gallinaceous birds, but as they resemble both the orders 
Rassores (Scrapers or Scratchers) and Insessories 
(Perchers) they have by some naturalists been consti- 
tuted into a distinct order between the two. 

While they resemble the order Gallinacea, in that 
their bills are comparatively short and slightly curved 
with a cartilaginous scale, through which their nostrils 
are pierced, and in their large crops and blunt claws, 
they dift'er from them in their monogamus habits, their 
living in pairs, and in the fact that the male shares with 
the female the duties of incubation and of feeding the 
young. 

Their young, unlike those of the Gallinacea which are 
able to run as soon as they are hatched, are born blind 
and helpless and consequently must be fed by the parent 
birds. By a wonderful and singular provision of 
Nature, as the period of incubation draws to an end, 
the food taken by the old birds into their crops softens, 
and is changed into a milky fluid, known to naturalists 
as "pigeon's milk." This "milk" is injected into the 
mouths of the young birds, by a peculiar spramodic 



The Feather's Practical Pii»eon Book. 



action of the crop and neck of the parents, wlio take 
the beak of the young birds in their mouths for that 
purpose. This manner of feeding is kept up until the 
young bird is able to care for itself, which will be in 
about six weeks' time. 

The number of species of the family Columbidae is 
very great, and they are found in all warm and temper- 
ate climates. Our fancy pigeons, the descendants of the 
true pigeons Cohiinba Livia and Colimiba Affiiiis of 
which I propose treating entirely, are gregarious in 
their habits, social in their nature, and live in flocks, 
though still retaining their monogamus practice. 

The origin of our various breeds of fancy pigeons is 
in a measure veiled in mystery. Pigeons have existed 
and been the companions of man, so to speak, from the 
earliest period of which we have any history, mention 
being made of them in ancient manuscripts written in 
the Hindu, Sanscrit, Arabian, and Persian languages, 
as also in various books of the Old Testament. The 
earliest record is said by learned writers to have oc- 
curred 3,000 years B. C. But whether the great variety 
of fancy pigeons we know at the present day have all 
descended, as many eminent naturalists maintain, from 
the Blue Rock Pigeon or Rock Dove, "Cohiniba Livia," 
and the Chequered Dove House Pigeon, Coluiiiba 
AfUnis," peculiar to the various countries of the Old 
World, is the question. 

That some of our Toy Pigeons owe their origin to 
them there is no doubt, but such pigeons as the Carrier, 
Pouter, Barb, Fantail, Jacobin, and others, present char- 
acteristics of such marked peculiarity as to cause think- 
ing men to believe that they have an origin distinct from 
the Blue Rock. Bht if such is actually the case, the 
varieties from which they sprang must now be extinct. 



8 




BASKET rOR SHIPPING OR. 
CARRYING PIGEONS. 




METHOD OF HOLDING A PIGEON. 



Tlie Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



for nowhere in a state of nature are any breeds of pig- 
eons found with pecuHarities that can mark them as the 
progenitors of any of tliose varieties we know to-day 
as high-class pigeons. 

Darwin, than whom there is no better modern author- 
ity, made deep research in this direction. Being an 
ardent pigeon fancier himself, he had the best of oppor- 
tunities to study their construction and habits, and at 
first inclined to the belief that most fanc}' pigeons 
sprang from separate sources, but giving it thought and 
being so led to experiment in crossing, he found that 
the tendency was to continually revert to the common 
origin, and that in the end liis crosses produced a blue 
pigeon, with white rump and black bars on the wings 
like the Blue Rock. 

We all know how, by proper selection, we can, after 
a time, breed all the fancy qualities out of a pigeon and 
have nothing left, as it were, but the frame or founda- 
tion. For instance, take the F"antail ; by selecting the 
poorest specimens "of a flock, we can, by continued 
breeding, bring them down to what we call a common 
pigeon with twelve feathers in the tail, and as distinct 
in shape and action from the Fan as well can be. 

So this process of evolution upward, while necessarily 
slower than the breaking-down process, can, by the se- 
lection of the fittest, finally be brought about. Doubtless 
our ancient pigeon fanciers taking advantage of some 
marked peculiarity in some of their feathered pets by 
crossing them together fixed these qualities, and so by 
careful selection of their progeny and mating back to 
the parents, a variety distinct from the Blue Rock was 
established. From this variety it may be there was a 
sport, and this again being protected and preserved, es- 
tablished another variety. This is, of course, all con- 



10 



The Feather's PrnctJoal Pio'eon Book. 



jecture, for there is no written nor known history to 
estabhsh this fact, but as all the experiments and study 
of Darwin and other naturalists point to the Blue Rocks 
as the common origin of fancy pigeons, we who have 
not given the matter deep thought and scrutiny, as we 
can not bring convincing proof to contradict, can do no 
better than accept this theory, and believe in the prin- 
ciple of evolution and the survival of the fittest as ap- 
plied to the pigeon family. 

The Blue Rock Pigeon or Rock Dove and the Cheq- 
uered Dove House Pigeon, are what are known as true 
pigeons, and differ from the Dove proper, in that they 
are not arboreal in their habits and are of a domestic 
rather than a roving disposition, preferring to live in 
colonies and having a fixed abode, and being capable 
of domestication. They are found in most parts of 
Europe, Asia, and Africa in a wild state, making their 
homes about cliffs and among the rocks and caves where 
they live in large families, never going far from home. 
They build their nests on the rocks and they are com- 
posed of twigs, rough grasses, and other coarse ma- 
terial placed loosely together. The female lays two 
white eggs,. and they produce several pairs in a season, 
the male assisting the female in the work of incubation. 
The Blue Rock is rather smaller than the Dove House 
Pigeon, and, as its name would indicate, has plumage of 
a light grayish-blue, with a beaiitiful tinge of green 
about the neck, variegated with purple and bronze reflec- 
tions. The head is quite long, eyes orange-red, the beak 
thin and black in color, legs short, feet red and tipped 
with nails the color of the bill. Across the lower part of 
the wings are two black parallel bars, the rump is white, 
the tail narrow, composed of twelve feathers, each end- 
ing in a black bar which, when closed, forms a bar 



11 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

across the tail. This type of pigeon is so often seen 
among our flocks of domestic pigeons that there will be 
no difficulty in recognizing it and proving its claim as 
one of the ancestors of our domestic flocks at least. 

The Dove House Pigeon {Coliiiiiba Affiius) is another 
wild variety of pigeon peculiar to all parts of the Old 
World, and supposed by many to be the true progenitor 
of our whole family of domestic pigeons. Like the 
P)]ue Rock, it frequents rocks, cliffs, and caverns, but 
is more susceptible of domestication than the true Rock. 
It is a trifle larger in size and differs from it somewhat 
in color, being a trifle darker and with wing-coverts 
cliequered or dappled ; in other respects it is the counter- 
part of the other. It is also said to be more prolific than 
the Bhie Rock, and, if taken young, easily tamed and 
domesticated, and does not retain the wild, suspicious 
nature of the Blue Rock. But while this variety in its 
instincts and habits seems to have good grounds on 
which to base its right to be called the originator of all 
our fancy breeds, there is no evidence to prove that it 
may not have derived its own origin as claimed by Dar- 
win, from the Blue Rock. This, however, is a cjuestion 
J am not inclined to argue, as its settlement can not 
affect the status of the pigeon as we know it to-day. 

Admitting, as scientific research seems to prove, that 
these two varieties of wild pigeons are the source from 
which all our common and fancy pigeons sprung, it 
seems strange that we see none of the variations in form 
and shape to-day among our common flocks that must 
some time have formed a basis from which to breed 
such birds as the Carrier, the Pouter, the Jacobin, and 
the host of feathered beauties we now know. Who in 
our time has ever heard or known of anyone producing 
from common pigeons any breed of fancy pigeons that 



12 




ALL KINDS or PER.CHES FOR PIGEONS. 



13 



The Feather's Practical Pio^eon Book. 



could lay claim to an established variety, breeding true 
like the Barb, the Turbit, or the Owl? Yet it seems 
strange if such sports occurred in earlier times that we 
never see an instance of it now. Taking this all into 
consideration, is there not apparently good grounds for 
the belief that some entertain, that a nvunber at least 
of our fancy pigeons must have had a more aristocratic 
origin than the wild Blue Rock ? 

I have here given a short history of the supposed 
origin of our domestic pigeons, and now turn to the 
pigeon as we know it in the United S*"»*:es. The only 
bird known to us as a pigeon, indigenous to the United 
States, is the wild or "Passenger Pigeon." This bird 
being strictly arboreal in its habits, that is, making its 
home in the woods and building its nests and perching 
in trees, is more properly a dove, and, therefore, the 
term pigeon is a misnomer. In form and shape it varies 
greatly from the true pigeon, and while an occasional 
specimen has been kept alive in the lofts of some fan- 
ciers, it can not be said to be capable of domestica- 
tion, for, as a rule, it docs not brook confinement and 
soon pines away and dies. 

As we find by this that we have no pigeons native to 
this country, we must naturally infer that all our com- 
mon and fancy pigeons have been imported from for- 
eign countries, but from what particular section of the 
Old World they first came history does not inform us. 
It is reasonable to suppose, however, that they were in- 
troduced by both the English and Dutch settlers, as 
both nations are known to have had lovers and breeders 
of pigeons before the United States were first settled. 

Naturally after becoming domiciled in their new 
homes and finding nothing of the kind native to the 
country the first settlers must have had a longing for a 



14 






: — r v\ -. \ \ \ \ \ \ xTrrrTT: ^ 




r I 'l^-:^-^-^'^ 



A COMBINATION HOUSE. . 

The plan shown here is one that will meet with uni- 
versal favor with the fancier who has limited space, and 
desires to keep poultry in connection with pigeons. It 
is a two-storied building, with the lower half arranged 
for poultry and the upper half for pigeons, with an 
aviary on two ends. It is unnecessary to give detailed 
plans of the building, which, of course, would have to 
be varied to suit the convenience of the builder. The 
house should be substantially built, and have steps or 
ladder leading from the first to the second floor. The 
windows in front of house should be covered with mesh 
wire to prevent escape of birds. 



15 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



few of their old companions, and so some of the return- 
ing ships were commissioned to bring out on their re- 
turn trip a few pairs. Thus, no doubt, was the founda- 
tion laid for the immense numbers now owned and bred 
every season throughout the Union. It may be that 
the Huguenots were among the first to introduce them, 
as, in my researches, I find that many of them were 
v/eavers of silk and other fabrics, and great fanciers 
of pigeons and birds, and that when driven out of 
France into England they took their pets with them, 
settling in and about Spitalsfield, which we know is a 
great center of fanciers to-day. In course of time many 
Huguenots found their way to America, and it is not 
unreasonable to suppose brought son:e of their pets with 
them and thus aided in laying a foundation for the fancy 
here. 

From inquiries made some years ago, however, I am 
inclined to believe that Philadelphia and Baltimore were 
about the first ports through which fancy pigeons were 
introduced, and as these cities have long been great pig- 
con centers, I think this will tend to bear me out in my 
belief. As far back as I have been able to trace is about 
125 years, and pigeons were then owned and bred in 
Philadelphia. Neither New York nor Boston, to my 
knowledge, furnishes any record of importations pre- 
vious to this. What St. Augustine or New Orleans 
might furnish I am unable to say, but probably, although 
these points were among our earliest settled, no record 
of so small a matter to the earlier historians was ever 
kept, and so the subject is shrouded in oblivion. In 
these later days we know that fancy pigeons have been 
brought to us from England, Scotland, Belgium, Ger- 
many, the Mediterranean districts, and from India, and 
from these importations large families have descended 

16 




PLAN OF AVIARY FOR LOFTS. 

This arrangement is admirabh' adapted to those who 
are not situated so as to have room for the construc- 
tion of a separate house, and desire to keep a few pig- 
eons for the pleasure of it. Such an arrangement is 
easily applied to the lofts of barns, stables, and other 
outbuildings on the place with excellent results. No 
extensive alterations are necessary, and the interior of 
loft may be made to conform with the plans hereafter 
shown. 



17 



Tlie Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



to delight America's fanciers, both old and young. 
Thanks to the energies of these fanciers, the quality of 
their pigeons has reached a higher standard to-day than 
lias ever been known before, and to help- maintain this 
standard and keep up the inteiiest of young fanciers this 
work is published. 




18 



CHAPTER II. 



Accommodations for Pigeons. 

Having, as it were, in the preceding chapter, confirm- 
ed our belief in the origin of our numerous famiUes of 
domestic and fancy pigeons, we pass to a subject of ful- 
ly as much, if not more, importance to the amateur and 
novice, that of providing proper accommodations for 
the pretty pets. 

Pigeons can be bred and raised almost anywhere that 
shelter can be provided, and they sometimes do with 
very little shelter ; in fact, I have seen them make a 
home in a common soap-box, nailed to the side of a barn, 
where they seemed as happy and contented as in more 
luxurious quarters. The flocks I have in mind were 
quite numerous and were accommodated with shelter 
by nailing a variety of small boxes to the gable end of 
a barn ; here they raised their young, and I have seen 
squealers in the nest, with the snow all about the sides 
of the boxes, and the mystery was that they had not 
frozen to death ; but they seemed fat and hearty, and 
there was no question raised as to their hardiness. Such 
a life must naturally produce a hardy race, but would 
not likely prove successful with the majority of high- 
class and Toy Pigeons. But while they may succeed with 
limited and unpretending quarters, still accommodations 
that allow of their being well cared for, and in which 
they can be visited with comfort and pleasure, are with- 
out doubt the most satisfactory to the breeder and fan- 
cier. 

These accommodations can be suited to the space 



19 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



available by the fancier. It may be a box nailed against 
the gable end of the house or barn ; it may be a limited 
space in the peak of the same ; it may be a larger room 
in that house or barn, or it may be a commodious build- 
ing erected for the purpose in the rear of the home lot. 
Wherever your fancy dictates or your means will allow, 
there can your pigeons find a home. They are not fas- 
tidious, no pride governs their choice, and they build, 
breed, and raise their little families as happily and con- 
tentedly in a rough box as in the most conveniently and 
comfortably arranged aviary. So if you can do no 
better and must have a few pigeons, take a box about 
lo inches deep, divide it into as many apartments lo 
inches square as size of your box will allow, then cut 
holes in the bottom of the box to correspond with each 
of the apartments you have made, say 4 inches wide 
and 5 inches high, nail an alighting-board 4 inches wide 
and 6 inches long to the floor of each apartment, letting 
as much as possible of the board project through the 
holes you have cut, after giving it a secure attachment 
to the floor of its apartment. When all this is done, you 
can fasten it to the side of any building, or fence even, 
if high enough from the ground to be out of the reach 
of cats and dogs. By placing the open side of the box 
to the building, it answers in place of back and saves 
adding weight to it by nailing on a back. 

As far as possible place it in a position facing the 
south, and protected from the cold northerly winds. 
Also make it water-tight, if you can, by covering with 
some water-proof material. This will make a very 
primitive pigeon-house, but I have known many a boy 
made happy over a no more elegant house, and the pig- 
eons are just as happy here as in a palace. The house 
can be placed high enough to be reached by a short lad- 



20 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

der and thus surely be out of harm's way. After the 
house is arranged and your pigeons mated, by confin- 
ing the pairs in the little apartments for a week or so, 
they will become wonted and be likely to stay and live 
contentedly in their new home. 

A house can be made with quarter pitch roof if one is 
handy with tools, or a carpenter can be employed to 
make one that will accommodate six or eight pairs, by 
making an upper and a lower floor, and dividing each 
into three or four apartments with entrances apart from 
each other, that is on each side of the house, and not 
directly over each other. This can be erected on a pole, 
and reached when necessary by a ladder. Finished and 
painted neatly it can be made very ornamental. 

If you have an out-building of any kind, where a 
commodious room can be arranged, looking to the 
south, you can arrange more elaborate quarters and be 
able to enjoy your birds in a greater degree, likewise 
controlling their actions more directly. This room needs 
plenty of light, and should be provided with one or two 
large windows even if you have to place them there 
yourself. Before arranging the nesting-places, get 
some old roofing-tin, cut it into strips 2 feet wide, 
nail this all around the sides where the floor and the 
walls unite, letting it project 6 or 8 inches over the 
floor, and the balance up the sides of the walls ; this will 
render it proof against rats and mice, the bane of pigeon 
breeders. Cover every weak spot where you think the 
vermin can get in, with pieces of tin, then give it a 
thorough coating of whitewash or white paint, as pig- 
eons are fond of white, and you are ready to place your 
nesting-boxes and perches. 

First arrange a tier of shelves about 15 inches wide 
and 12 inches apart; divide these into apartments about 



21 



FLIGHT 



HOUSE 



y 



-N, 



14FT--- 



■lOFT- 



PLAN OF HOUSE FOR THE BACK YARD. 

The plan herewith shown is an excellent one for the 
fancier who has a back-yard and desires a special house 
for his birds. The dimensions of houses may be varied 
to suit the size of yard, running from fence to fence. 
The framework should be substantially built, and board- 
ed on the outside with tongued and grooved siding; the 
inner side should be boarded also with the same kind of 
material, and, if possible, the space between the walls 
should be filled with sawdust. The floor should be 
made of tongued and grooved material securely nailed 
to the timbers below. The underneath part of the roof 
should be lined with the same material as the sides, 
and the outside of roof should be shingled or covered 
with tin. Where the house joins the fence, the cracks 
should be well covered to prevent rain from leaking 
through, and every precaution should be taken to keep 
the interior of house free from dampness. 



22 





c 



H 
S 
P5 

> 
O 

> 




23 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



l8 to 20 inches long, by upright partitions reaching out 
flush with the edge of the shelf. This gives an apartment 
for each pair, gives them the seclusion they prefer, and 
prevents in a measure quarrelling, a condition of aiffairs 
\'ery necessary to successful breeding. 

These little apartments can be again sub-divided by a 
half partition, say 1 1 inches long and 5 inches high ; this 
allows space for two nesting-boxes or pans, whichever 
is used, and permits of the hen making a second nest 
before the young are ready to leave the first, and allow- 
ing the old birds to carry on the incubating process 
without being annoyed by the youngsters begging to be 
fed, as they are continually doing when not separated 
from the parent birds. In front of this middle partition 
place a strip about 3 inches wide extending from side 
to side ; this will keep the nest-pans in place, and pre- 
vent the squabs coming to tlie front of the apartment 
should they work themselves out of the nest, and falling 
to the floor, where they are liable to be maltreated and 
killed by old birds of other pairs. Occasionally you will 
find birds, both male and female, so kindly tempered as 
to feed every young squab that comes to them to be fed : 
but they are few, and it is to guard against the vicious 
that I advise this precaution. 

To the front of every nesting-place I would have 
fitted a movable wire door or screen made of two-inch 
mesh wire. This will enable you to confine your pairs 
to the particular nest you select for them until they be- 
come settled, when it can be removed entirely and laid 
aside until needed again. The fastening of these doors 
to the apartment can be made a matter of choice ; either 
hanging them on the side, so as to swing outward', or 
suspending them from the shelf above, so as to raise 
upward. Or they can be made in form of two doors, one 



24 



The Feather's Practiciil Pigeon Book. 

to swing to the right and one to the left. This I think 
the better form, as then you can leave one of the doors 
closed before the nest in which the hen is sitting, thus 
partially secluding her. 

For nests there is nothing better than the circular 
earthern nest-pan, found at the poultry-supply stores, 
and made in sizes of 9, 10, and 12 inches diameter, the 
9-inch being for the smaller class of pigeons, like Tum- 
blers, Owls, etc., while the lo-inch answers for the 
medium-sized pigeons, and the 12-inch for Pouters, 
Runts, and Carriers. But you may be in a locaUty 
where such nests can not be found ; in such a case tin 
pans can be used, such as are made from block tin, 
pressed. These can be nailed to a square wooden foun- 
dation, thus making them movable and preventing them 
from being upset. Or you can make square wooden 
boxes of same width as diameter of the pans. If boxes 
are used the corners should be fitted with triangular 
corner-blocks to keep the nesting-material towards the 
center. If the tin pans or wooden boxes are used I 
would advise giving them a good coating of paint. This 
will act as a preventive against lice, and make them 
easier to clean. 

For nest-material there can be nothing better than 
pine sawdust, as this can be frequently changed and also 
has a tendency to keep insects away. Cedar sawdust is 
even better if one lives in a locality where it can be pro- 
cured. You will also need perches in different parts of 
the room for the convenience of birds not nesting. 
These can be made of half-inch material, 4 inches wide. 
Take two pieces 5 or 6 inches long, nail two ends to- 
gether, thus forming the two sides of an angle. Hang 
these on ten-penny nails, driven into the walls in various 
places separate from each other. These make the best 



25 



12 FT 
PERCHES 



?2FT 



FOOD HOPPER 

cm 

HOUSE 



PERCHES 



FOOD MOPPCR 



HOUSE 



FLIGHT 



FLIGHT 



*T 




PLAN or DUPLEX HOUSE. 

The Duplex House may be built separately or fitted to 
a wall and will comfortably bouse from forty to fifty 
birds, except in the mating season when the number 
must be considerably lessened if the wished-for success 
is to be attained. The arrangement of the duplicate 
compartments allowing the sexes to be divided, as they 
should alwa)'S be except in the breeding season, and 
the overhead loft giving freedom for a few pairs of 
common pigeons to be used as feeders, are decided ad- 
vantages of this house. 



26 




27 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



of perches, are easily moved for cleaning, and as they 
accommodate but one pigeon prevent quarrelling. 

To every loft such as I have just described there 
should be an outside area or "fly" attached for the pur- 
pose of giving your birds, when confined, a place to sun 
and air themselves. This can be located immediately in 
front of your windows, or to one side as convenient, 
but should, like the windows, be on the sunny side 
of the house. It can be made as large as you 
deem advisable, and should have perches distributed 
about, such as are described for use in the loft. Cover 
it with two-inch mesh wire on sides and top, having 
the bottom or platform of wood made tight. If you in- 
tend permitting tbe birds perfect liberty after a time, to 
go and come as they please, you will need to construct 
a falling door, either on one side or the front. This can 
be hung on hinges and controlled by a rope and pulleys, 
sc as to be lowered and raised at will. This door need 
not be over 8 inches wide and 2 feet long, unless you 
desire it. Two pieces should project from the platform 
for it to rest on when down, and in this form it will an- 
swer as an alighting-board for pigeons returning to 
the loft. 

There should also be two or three sets of what are 
known as bolting-wires. At some place in the area cut 
tbe wire away and insert a board 2 feet long and 8 
inches wide. In this board cut three holes 4 inches 
wide and 5 inches high, rounded at the top. Project from 
these holes an alighting-strip 4 inches wide and 8 inches 
long, fastening one end to the platform of the area. 
Take a round stick i inch in diameter (an old broom- 
handle will answer), saw this into pieces 35^ inches 
long. ' Bore a hole ^ of an inch deep in the middle of 
the stick, and an inch each wav bore other holes of 



28 



The Feather's Practical Pii>:eon Book. 



same depth ; take pieces of common telegraph-wire 5 
inches long and insert in these holes solidly as far as 
their depth will allow. Then bore in each end of the 
stick other holes an inch deep ; in these insert pieces of 
wire 2 inches long. These answer for axles, as it were, 
for the bolting- wire to move on. After this is finished 
put a screw-eye on the left of the opening made in the 
board near the top, then insert one end of the axle in 
this. Place another eye 'on the opposite side, opening 
the eye so as to permit the other axle to slip into place. 
This you will see gives you a little swinging gate that 
should just about fit the hole cut in the board. By plac- 
ing another piece of wire across the bottom of the hole 
just so the ends of the longer wires hit it, you prevent 
it swinging outward, while it opens easily to the inside. 
The object of this is to allow any belated pigeons admis- 
sion to the loft after the falling door is closed, and yet 
preventing any from leaving until the door is again 
opened. Pigeons soon learn to know the purpose for 
which this is intended, and avail themselves of it. 

When possible, a building erected for the purpose 
and one story in height I consider the best. This saves 
climbing stairs and consequently is much more easily 
taken care of than a second-floor loft. Where built for 
the purpose it can just as well be made rat, cat, and 
even man and boy proof, as a more elevated room. By 
excavating the ground for about a foot in depth, filling 
this in with cinders or broken stone, and then giving 
it a coating of asphalt, you have a rat-proof floor, and 
one that is easily cleaned at all times, besides being 
free from dampness. Covered a few inches deep 
with clean, white sand or pine saw^-dust, it will keep 
sweet and clean for a long time, especially if occasion- 
ally raked with a fine-tooth rake, and all refuse that 




PLAN OF SIMPLE CONTINUOUS HOUSE. 

The design shown is a very simple, and at the same 
time a very good one to follow. The illustration shows 
two houses, but for those who desire more than two, it 
is only necessary to continue the plan as shown until 
the required number are built. The general details of 
construction as given for other houses will apply equally 
as well to this, excepting that where a large number 
are to be built in a row, it would be necessary to have 
doors between each partition, or a passage-way at rear 
running entire length of bujlding. Brick foundation 
should be used when building a large number of houses. 



30 



r 
PI 

o 

z 

H 

z 

c 


c 
(/) 

X 


P5 




31 



The Feather's Practical Pioeon Book. 



may gather be carefully removed. It should be made 
of good seasoned stuff, well battened on the outside and 
provided with plenty of windows facing the south and 
made to swing outwards. These can then be protected 
on the inside by wire netting, which will neither exclude 
light nor air. The roof should be tight and can be 
either a pitch or shed-roof as fancy dictates. 

Attached to the building, as location permits, should 
be a large area or flight, enclosed on top and sides with 
wire netting, the first 3 feet from the ground being of 
i-inch, the balance of 2-inch mesh; the i-inch mesh pre- 
venting rats, weasels, and other vermin from gaining 
access from this source. Near the top can be arranged 
a door to fall downwards on to brackets, and thus allow- 
ing the. pigeons, if desired, more liberty, and answering 
at the same time as an alighting-board or shelf when 
ihey return from a flight. This can be arranged with 
pulleys or reached by a ladder as the owner sees fit. 
The interior can be fitted with shelves for nests, and 
these nests made stationary or movable as inclination 
suggests, but I regard movable nests as the best, for 
then they can be easily cleaned, and when thought 
necessary to give the room a thorough white-washing, 
all can be taken out and there be but little obstruction 
to the work. 

The little inverted V-shaped perches common in well- 
appointed pigeon-lofts, and previously mentioned, 
should be plenty, and placed on the sides of the building 
away from the nests, and these also should be movable 
so they can be frequently taken down and cleaned. By 
placing them one under the other, it prevents the bird 
above from soiling the plumage of the one under it, and 
as but one bird can occupy each, it also prevents quar- 
relling. 



32 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



The size of the building can be suited to the wants 
of the fancier, and be governed by the space he can de- 
vote to it, and also to the number he intends to accom- 
modate. I would say in addition, do not, if you want 
to enjoy your birds, get it too small. A building of this 
kind could be put to other uses if the time came, as it 
eventually does to most Americans, when other matters 
require their attention and the hobby has to be relin- 
quished. 

From these descriptions the reader can deduce his 
own conclusions, and arrange such accommodations as 
his necessity and means demand and will admit of. He 
must also be governed by the number and variety he 
desires or intends to keep, and fashion his house accord- 
ingly. As a guide as to dimensions, I will say that a 
room 15x12 by 8 feet high will easily accommodate fifty 
pairs of birds. I would also add that all rooms should 
be provided with an extra wire partition so that young 
birds just out of the nest can be kept apart from the 
breeding pairs, and, also, so that when the breeding sea- 
son is over the cocks may be separated from the hens, 
as for the good of the hens it is better to keep the sexes 
apart during the molting season and extreme cold 
weather. Otherwise the hens will be wasting their 
vitality by laying, hatching, and feeding at a time when 
they need to be recuperating for the spring and sum- 
mer's work. 

These remarks apply to such as have high-class birds 
and the conveniences to control them, and not to the 
owner of common birds, who uses the primitive house I 
have described, and allows his pigeons to live in a com- 
parative state of nature, and under no control. In cases 
where they are allowed to "shift" for themselves, nature 
must be allowed to take its course, let the results be 



3.3 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



what they may ; and, strange to say, results are often 
more satisfactory, as far as increase in numbers is con- 
cerned, than when they receive the best of care. 

Having- provided the loft or house, as it may be, seen 
that it is well painted or whitewashed, and guarded 
against the admission of rats, mice, and cats, we turn 
our attention to the necessary furniture for the conveni- 
ence of the pigeons. This need not be abundant, nor 
elaborate in its character, but should be movable, and 
constructed so as to admit of economy and cleanliness 
in its use. First will be needed a hopper, or hoppers, 
for I believe it economy where you have several kinds 
of feed to have a hopper for each kind, as each pigeon 
has a dififerent taste, some preferring corn to wheat or 
peas, and, again, others preferring peas to either wheat 
or corn. 

If the three are mixed together in one hopper, the 
bird that likes peas will throw out with his bill, as far 
as possible, the other kinds of grain to get at his favorite 
morsel, and naturally much of the food thrown on the 
floor will be trodden under foot and wasted. If a hopper 
is provided for each kind of grain, the pigeon will find 
what it wants without trouble and will waste but little. 
These hoppers can be cheaply constructed, and of any 
pattern that may suggest itself. They can be made self- 
feeding, or consist of a simple open trough, and only 
such a portion of food placed in them each day as will 
be likely to be used on that day. Self-feeding ones are 
the most desirable for those who can not be regular in 
their visits to their pets, as it keeps a supply of food 
constantly ready for their use, a feature very desirable 
when old birds are feeding their young. B'ut when one 
has time for frequent daily visits to his lofts or aviaries 
and can watch the food supply closely, T believe the open 



34 




A. Water-Fountain. B. Metal Food-Hopper or 
Water-Fountain. C. Wooden Food-Hopper. 



35 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



trough the best, and frequent feedings better than a con- 
stant supply. The feeding-trough, whether of the self- 
feeding or open pattern, should be protected by bars 
either of wood or wire, about 2 inches apart ; this allows 
the pigeon to reach the food with his bill, but pre- 
vents his walking over it, also prevents a selfish cock 
from monopolizing the whole trough, as they sometimes 
will, and tends to prevent the wasting we have men- 
tioned by throwing the food out with the bill. 

A hopper for each kind of food placed in various 
parts of the loft insures a supply for all and of the kin*, 
most to their taste. 

In the matter of drinking-vessels one can not be too 
particular, as clean, fresh water is really a necessity to 
insure perfect health, as there is unquestionably moic 
disease and deaths caused by impure water than from 
any other source. Pigeons seem to have a penchant for 
fouling their water with their excrement, and conse- 
quently a closed vessel is the best for drinking purposes. 
I Jut this water should be renewed every day, no matter 
whether all is consumed or not. The practice of filling a 
fountain and leaving it to stand until all the water is ex- 
hausted, is a bad one. The fountain should be filled 
every day and frequently scalded to keep it sweet. A 
good drinking-vessel can be made by taking an ordinary 
red earthen flower-pot. .Stop the hole in the bottom 
tightly with a cork. Fill the flower-pot full to the brim 
with water, then take a saucer, such as is usually sold 
with such pots, of a size large enough to fit over the top 
of the pot, leaving a space of about an inch all around 
the edge of the pot and outside edge of the saucer. In 
the bottom of the saucer put three or four strips of wood 
or iron a quarter of an inch thick and place the saucer, 
bottom up, on top of the pot. Then quickly invert pot 



36 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



and saucer, setting the saucer in its usual position on the 
floor. The quarter-inch sticks will allow the water to 
flow out enough to about fill the space between saucer 
and pot, and you have a vessel easily filled and cleaned, 
and one in which the water will keep cool at all times. 

For locations where water freezes in winter, this same 
fountain will answer, but needs to be filled several 
times each day, and watched that it does not freeze, and 
should always be emptied at night. In fact, I would 
advise emptying all fountains at night, and refilling 
them in the morning, not allowing water to stand in any 
vessel over night. There are many different kinds of 
drinking-vessels, but none better in all ways than the 
one above described. By using pieces of iron for the 
pot to rest on in the saucer it gives a little chalybeate 
quality to the water, that is said to be good as a tonic 
for the birds. 

Another article needed as part of the furniture of the 
loft is a bathing-pan. This can be about 4 inches deep 
and of any size you choose ; it may be an earthen pan 
accommodating three or four birds, it may be a sheet- 
ii'on one accommodating twenty-five or thirty, or it may 
be made of one end of a barrel, accommodating ten or 
twelve. But let its dimensions be what they may, it is to 
be counted among the necessary articles of the loft. In 
the summer a bath can be given every day, but in winter 
twice a week will do unless the weather is very severe. 
Sunny days should always be selected, and after the 
bath the birds be allowed to dry themselves in the sun. 

As soon as the bath is finished, the pans should be 
removed, to prevent the birds drinking the water, which 
they are likely to do if the pans are not emptied. It is 
astonishing how much dirt is removed by a bath. ^ Put 
your water in the pans as clear as crystal, and when the 



37 



The Feather's Practical Piareon Book. 



sport is over (for the birds enjoy it and make sport of 
it) the water that is left wih be of a milky whiteness 
and the surface covered with the dust from their bodies. 
This shows conclusively the necessity for a frequent 
bath. Birds allowed the free use of clean water are 
always exceptionally free from lice, and their plumage is 
bright and glossy. 

Another piece of furniture necessary is a landing-net. 
This is made of rattan or any light material, looped at 
one end, and from which is suspended a bag of cloth or 
netting, about i8 inches in length, the upper or open end 
of the bag being attached to the loop in the handle. 
Wishing to catch any particular member of the loft, you 
take the handle of the net in the hand, and by a dex- 
terous movement cast the net over the bird and it is a 
prisoner. This manner of catching a bird avoids the 
necessity of chasing it about and alarming the whole 
flock, startling the sitting birds, and making all wild 
and suspicious. A little practice will render one so skil- 
ful in its use as rarely to miss the bird aimed at. 

Another necessary article is a scraper, for removing 
the droppings from the perches, the nesting-places, and 
the floor. For the shelves and elevated places an ordinary 
triangular ship-scraper is often used, or a portion of the 
blade of an old hand-saw, about t inches long and 4 or 
5 wide, fitted with a wooden rim to protect the hand, is 
as good a scraper as one can use. For the floor have 
a piece of the saw fitted on the end of a handle 5 feet 
long. With this you can work easily and very effec- 
tively. If one has the time, a little attention every day 
will keep a loft in excellent order, and by working 
quietly the birds on the nests are not disturbed, and 
all soon learn that they are not going to be injured and 
pay but little attention to the worker. 



38 




PLANS or NESTS. 

A. Pair Horizontal Nests. B. Pair Vertical Nests. 
C. Single Covered Nest. D. Double Covered Nest. 
E. Nest-Pan. 



39 



The Feather's Practical Pic^eon Book. 



The scrapings should all be saved, as they make ex- 
cellent manure when properly composted, or they can be 
sold to morocco dressers, who prize them highly for use 
in tanning their hides. Every loft, however small, needs 
a mating-cage if care is to be used in breeding. For this 
purpose a box 2 feet long and 12 inches deep and as 
many inches high will answer for all varieties except 
J 'outers. These will need a larger cage or box. Divide 
the box in the middle by a wire partition ; also slat or 
wire the front. This gives two apartments. Wishing 
to pair up any particular cock and hen, place them 
in the separate apartments, and, if congenial, they will 
soon make love to each other through the wire partition. 
They would, perhaps, mate if placed in a single cage, but 
sometimes the match is not an agreeable one to the hen, 
and in spite of all the enticing actions of the cock the 
hen will not accept his attentions. Then comes a series 
of quarrels, which frequently ends in the hen being 
mastered and then terribly abused by the cock, he fre- 
quently pecking her about the head till the skull is laid 
bare and the flesh a mass of bloody pulp. 

By placing them in separate apartments this is all 
avoided, and after a time, if there is no agreement en- 
tered into between them, one or the other can be re- 
moved and a bird put in its place that may prove 
more congenial. I have frequently seen birds placed in 
the cage mate in an hour's time, and again have seen 
day after day pass and the hen show no indication of 
mating, and yet in the end, when the right spirit per- 
vaded her, accept the attentions of the cock and prove 
a faithful companion. 

Should the fancier's flock be a large one, he would 
naturally need several mating-cages. These should be 
located outside or away from the breeding-room, so that 



40 




BLUE POUTER. COCK. 



Being the easiest to breed, possessing all the good 
qualities of the other Pouters together with its own 
fine point, its beautiful blue plumage, the Blue Pouter 
easily takes the lead in this class of pigeons. 



41 



The Feather's Practical Pioeon Book. 



the mating pairs may be quiet and undisturbed by the 
other pigeons. Provisions should be made for good 
ventilation in the loft, especially in hot weather, and 
while draughts are to be strenuously avoided, the air 
needs to be kept as fresh and pure as possible. Cleanli- 
ness will aid in this, but small openings near the top of 
the room that can be opened and closed as circumstances 
require are what is needed. Having suggested all the 
necessary fixtures for the comfort of the pigeons that 
are usually found in a loft, I give my attention to the 
proper food to provide for them while in confinement, 
a condition in which the greater part of the lives of 
fancy pigeons must be spent. 




42 



CHAPTER III. 



Food and Feeding. 

Pigeons that have their hberty are privileged to seek 
and select such food as they prefer. Frequently they 
find nothing to their liking near home, and fly miles 
away to feeding-places that furnish what suits their 
taste. In the country they visit the newly-sown grain- 
fields, and frequently become a pest to the farmer, or in 
the fall find generous living among the ripened grain. 
Those living near towns and cities find abundant pick- 
ings in the streets and thrive and grow fat upon the 
offal of horses scattered about. But pigeons in confine- 
ment have no choice and must take what is provided 
for their use or starve. Consequently it is the duty of 
their keeper to provide food that shall be palatable and 
acceptable to them. As all pigeons have not the same 
tastes and what is meat for one in a sense is poison to 
another, it is, therefore, necessary to furnish a variety, 
so that all shall find what is to their liking and so be 
satisfied and correspondingly contented. 

Among the varieties of grain produced in America 
1 find that pigeons take kindly to Indian corn, wheat, 
buckwheat, Canada peas, Hungarian grass-seed, millet, 
and sometimes barley, but this only when it had been 
before them a long time and they found that it was 
edible, but they would leave it any time for good wheat 
or corn. Tares, dari, and a small black bean, have fre- 
quently been imported and used for pigeon food, but as 
they come high, their use is not general, nor do I believe 
them necessary considering that we have so many other 



43 



The Featlier's Practical Pigeon Book. 



foods that are desirable and answer all the purposes re- 
quired of them. Rye my pigeons never seemed to take 
to, and while I have seen frequently in the fall of the 
rear flocks of pigeons on the harvested rye-fields, I 
never found fancy pigeons partial to it when they could 
get anything else. I have had the same experience with 
poultry ; they never took kindh" to rye. 

Whatever grain is fed should be thoroughly cured 
and dry, as much loss and disease have been engendered 
by feeding pigeons new grain, strange to say, as pigeons 
flying at large seem to eat newly-ripened grain with 
impunity. I have seen fancy pigeons that were confined 
waste away and grow thin with an abundance of food 
before them, of which they seemed to partake freely, 
and on examining into the cause could come to no other 
conclusion than that it was from eating new grain. 
While using it the floor of the loft would be as wet as 
though sprinkled with water, and it was evident that the 
food was producing a loosened condition of the bowels 
that was weakening and killing the birds. A return to 
good, sound, old grain worked a change at once, and 
ever after I shunned new grain. 

Pigeons are very fond of corn, and many are in the 
habit of feeding it whole to their birds. This is a danger- 
ous practice, especially to small birds, as the large ker- 
nels are liable to lodge in their throats and choke them. 
The best way to feed this grain is to feed it cracked, 
unless you can get the small Yankee corn a little larger 
than a pea. In some sections of the country it is quite 
abundant and when it can be had is preferable to all 
larger corn. Although I have found, in my experience, 
that pigeons seem to prefer good, sound, yellow gourd, 
seed-corn, they soon learn to know and like the smaller 
varietv above mentioned. 



44 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



The food of pigeons needs to be varied according- to 
the season and location. In northern locahties where 
the nights are long and the cold sometimes intense dur- 
ing the winter months, the food needs to be of a kind 
slow of digestion and affording considerable warmth. 
For this purpose, good sound peas, either gray or yel- 
low, and the little Yankee corn make the best of food. 
During the spring and summer months when the weath- 
er is mild and the birds are breeding, sound wheat, buck • 
wheat, small Canada peas, and millet are the proper 
foods. Tares, if they can be afforded, also the dari 1 
have mentioned, if that can be had. This last is an East 
Indian variety of grain, resembling very much the pearl 
barley sold in stores for soups. The English fanciers 
regard it highly, but owing to its cost it can never be 
expected to become a favorite with our fanciers. 

I have said that what is meat for some varieties is poi- 
son for others ; for this reason attention must be paid to 
the action of the different kinds of grain on the various 
members of a flock. If any particular grain seems to 
scour them it should be taken from them entirely, or 
only fed in small quantities ; likewise if any grain seems 
to be constipating, that, also, should be reduced in quan- 
tity. In changing from one grain to another the change 
should be gradual until they become accustomed to its 
use. While an idea prevails that pigeons will eat grain 
only, this is a mistake, for they are fond of both plant 
and animal food. I have found peas and lettuce both 
acceptable and always supplied their wants by planting 
seed of these varieties in shallow boxes and when up 
about an inch placing them in the lofts. 

While there is no question but. that pigeons flying at 
large pick up animal food in the shape of small snails, 
it never seemed to be a necessity, and I never by experi- 



45 



The Feather's Practical Pioeon Book. 



ment proved that they would eat it when confined. Salt 
fish, we all know, they are fond of, and many fanciers 
keep a piece fastened to the wall within reach of their 
birds, but while they may also like the meat, it is no 
doubt the salt in the fish they are after. Bread is an 
excellent, economical, and favorite food with pigeons. 
It can be fed in various ways. It can be dried hard and 
pounded to pieces, it can be toasted and broken in bits, 
or it can be soaked and mixed with bran. In this form 
I have found pigeons very eager for it ; in fact, forsake 
their grain for it, and not leave the dish till it was all 
consumed. This preparation, with the addition of a 
little bone-flour, is excellent for birds that are feeding 
their young, and all seem to thrive on it. I used to pur- 
chase bread by the barrel of the bakers, and use it as 
above for both poultry and pigeons. 

Salt is something pigeons are very fond of, and every 
loft should have either lumps of rock salt standing 
about, or a piece of salt cat. This is a preparation 
originated many years ago by old English fanciers, and, 
properly prepared, is said to be a great promoter of 
health and fine condition in the flock. There are many 
dififerent ways of preparing it, but the following for- 
mula is about the best I have ever used : One peck dry 
loam ; one handful each of flour, ground cloves, fennel 
seed, dill seed, cummin seed, fennigreek, and powdered 
assafetida ; three double handfuls common salt and one 
double handful bay salt. ]\Iix this well together dry, 
and then add water, and make about as stiflf as putty, 
divide in cakes, allowing it to dry and harden in the sun. 
One or two of these lumps placed in the loft will be 
welcomed and freely partaken of as soon as it is found 
what it is. Sometimes if very hard, I have found it 
necessary to wet it a little to induce the birds to take it. 



46 




BLACK-PIED POUTER. COCK. 

One of the most graceful and gentle of all pigeons is 
the Pouter, so much so that it has been called the 
" Queen of Pigeons." It is a large but never coarse 
bird, with long and slender body, standing perpendicu- 
larly, with wings held close to the body; flights, extend- 
ing in line to above the tail ; the legs rather straight, 
closely feathered, long, and placed well back in the 
body. 



47 



The Feather's Praetietil Pigeon Book. 



While grain and bread should form the staple food, 
there are many varieties of seeds that pigeons are fond 
of and enjoy occasionally, such as hemp, canary, rape, 
turnip, and coriander. These are more or less stimu- 
lating and heating, and should not be used for a gen- 
eral diet, but can be thrown to the birds after their re- 
turn to the loft from a fly. or when giving them an 
occasional visit through the day. By the use of such 
luxuries birds can be made very tame. In addition to 
the various foods I have mentioned, I would recom- 
mend that a box of broken oyster-shells and old lime 
mortar be always kept in the loft. Pigeons seem to be 
very fond of lime mortar ; not such as is used for walls 
or rooms, as this contains hair, but such as comes from 
brick or stone foundation walls. Pigeons confined in 
rooms of brick buildings where they can get at the mor- 
tar betw^een the bricks, will, if not furnished with a sup- 
plv. peck it out from between the layers of bricks. 
This is evidence that they are fond of it, and while, 
perhaps, not an absolute necessity, liking it, they should 
be supplied with it. 

Broken bone and even broken charcoal will, at times, 
seem to be relished. \Miile oyster-shells and old mortar 
may answer the purpose. I have always made it a point 
to have in addition a box of small-sized gravel. As pig- 
eons, like members of the gallinaceous family, are sup- 
plied with a gizzard where the food is prepared for 
perfect digestion, it is necessary for this organ to be 
furnished with something hard that will assist in grind- 
i"T the food, and nothing seems to answer this purpose 
better than sharp grit or gravel, consequently it becomes 
a necessity that something of this kind should be sup- 
plied. The prepared grit now offered for sale by var- 
ious dealers is clean, hard, and sharp, and fills the place 



48 



The Feather's Practical Pi2:eoii Book. 



of natural gravel to perfection. With the varied "menu" 
presented herewith, the novice can form something of 
an idea of what his pigeons will enjoy, and while it is not 
at all necessary that he should supply to them the whole 
hst, he can make from this his selection, and feed what 
seems to be most to their taste, and what agrees with 
them best. Be cautious about over-feeding. Keep them 
in just such a condition that they will enjoy their meals 
when furnished them and then with, if possible, a little 
outdoor exercise, they should be healthy, active, and 
contented. 

Birds kept continually confined need a little more 
careful watching than those that can have daily exercise, 
to see that they do not suffer from close confinement. 
If the loft is roomy they can get considerable exercise 
right in the loft, but if quarters are contracted, the 
chances for disease and vermin are greater than if at 
liberty. Above all things, let the quarters be what they 
may, do not overcrowd. Where possible, I would ad- 
vise the use of a raised platform for feeding ; here the 
various grains can be placed, and be eaten from the 
feeding-dishes or hoppers, or scattered about. 

If grain is fed directly from the hand, this platform 
can be swept clean before feeding and it will be found a 
much nicer way than to feed on the floor. One must 
be governed in feeding by the time at one's disposal. 
If only able to visit the birds twice a day, food must be 
supplied to last from one feeding-time to the other, but 
if able to visit the loft several times each day, then thv, 
feeding each time can be in limited quantities and the 
chance to vary the food much better. If one is situated 
so as to have a roomy area built on the ground, a plat- 
form can be erected there and on dry days the birds fed 
there. The gravel, water, and other supplies can all be 



49 



The Feather's Practical Pijireon Book. 



placed here and sheltered from wet, and in this way the 
loft left for breeding and shelter alone. In this connec- 
tion I might call the attention to the water supply, 
which should always be pure and fresh. The addition 
occasionally of a small piece of quicklime, also, at 
times a little of the Douglas mixture so highly recom- 
mended for poultry, is very beneficial. 

The Douglas mixture is made after the following 
recipe : One-half ounce sulphuric acid, five-eighths 
pound green vitriol or copperas dissolved in two quarts 
of hot, soft water ; when cold add two quarts cold water, 
making a gallon. A tablespoonful to a pint of water is 
about the right proportion to use. Some poultry writers 
have decried this mixture and pronounced it of no ac- 
count, but experience has taught me that its occasional 
use is beneficial, and that, in the spring particularly, it 
has proved an excellent tonic. It imparts a slight chaly- 
beate taste to the water, and all know that iron is fre- 
quently of great benefit to an impared system. In addi- 
tion to what has been said regarding the grain fed to 
pigeons, I would add that whatever you buy, have it 
good, sweet, and well cured. Poor grain is dear at any 
price, and for high-class pigeons is dangerous material 
to use. The screenings of good, sound grain are not 
objectionable as a change, but grain that is weevil- 
eaten or musty is not economical, and in many cases 
acts like poison. Beware of it. 



50 



CHAPTER IV. 

What Varieties to Breed. 

The necessary provisions for the accommodation and 
comfort of the flock having been all arranged, the ques- 
tion with a novice naturally arises, "What variety will 
it be best to keep and breed ?" Well this, as it is a mat- 
ter generally of taste or fancy, is a hard question to an- 
swer for all alike. There are so many to choose from ; 
something like 150 or more varieties and sub-varieties, 
and all possessed of qualities more or less desirable. 
Much depends, as we have said, in regard to the con- 
struction of the habitation, on the moneyed resources of 
the breeder. Still, I believe in commencing, it is better 
to begin with some of the more easily managed varieties 
and learn through them what is needed for the success- 
ful breeding of the more expensive and higher-class 
pigeons. Therefore I always advise beginning with 
such birds as the conimon Long-faced Tumbler, Ant- 
werp, Fantail, Duchesse, Owl, Solid Colored Turbit, 
and birds such as these, that are generally good nurses 
and feeders, possessed of line qualities enough to make 
them attractive and yet not so difficult to produce in per- 
fection as some of the high-class and parti-colored pig- 
eons. 

Then after learning the habits of these the young 
fancier is by this first experience better fitted to under- 
take the breeding of the more delicate and difficult 
varieties. Not but that some of the varieties named 
have qualities that are difficult to produce in perfection, 



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The Feather's Praotieal Pigeon Book. 



but they seem to be easier to manage and control than 
others of this great family. 

The breeding of pigeons in perfection is a study only 
learned by long experience, and the lesson, like the les- 
sons of life, needs to be first studied and learned 
through the medium of the commoner and more easily 
understood branches. I think any one commencing in 
this way and then gradually working up to the more 
valuable varieties is less liable to become discouraged 
and retire in disgust from the fancy, than if he 
started in at once to breed high-class birds, and met at 
the outset the difficulties and discouragements one has 
to contend with in the breeding and management of 
such stock. In the breeding of fancy pigeons much de- 
pends on the motive that induces one to embark in it, 
as to his continuing in the fancy. Some start with the 
idea there is money to be made from raising fancy pig- 
eons, and consequently foster with care every specimen 
that is brought forth no matter how imperfect in quality, 
believing every one is salable at some price, and, there- 
fore, as it were, "fish for their net" ; such a fancier has 
his place, but it is not among the foremost. Others 
again take it up because it is something new, and ex- 
pect to derive both pleasure and fame from being as- 
sociated with the fancy. Some of these achieve their 
end, learn to love the pursuit, and become life-long 
fanciers, but too many after many unsuccessful trials 
retire baffled and discouraged, and are heard of no more. 

Others become fanciers from an inherent love of pets. 
These are the ones that generally make pigeon breeding 
a success, and that do so much to keep alive the love 
and interest for the feathered beauties. Money is no 
object to them, price is no hindrance to their ambition, 
and the word defeat is not in their lexicon. With the 



52 





PIGMY POUTER.. 

The Pigmy Pouter is the bantam of pigeondom, and, 
excepting size, is Hke its larger brethren in all things. 
There is some doubt as to its origin, but the Norwich 
Cropper is generally conceded to have had something 
to do with its make-up, though in-breeding must be 
resorted to if the bird is to be kept small 



53 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

idea of improvement and perfection ever in their minds, 
tliey strive on, studying, experimenting, and breeding, 
until the desired goal is reached, for although Nature 
presents many obstacles, there are certain of her laws 
that when understood and put into practice bring the 
desired results, and these are the principles the true 
fancier is constantly striving to understand and apply. 
And this is what keeps him a fancier and has given to 
the pigeon world so many varied and beautiful speci- 
mens of their kind. Look back and consider, (taking 
the original Blue Rock Cohimba Livia as the starting- 
point,) what an immense amount of thought, time, and 
patience must have been bestowed on the subject, to 
produce such a lot of pigeons as the Pouter, the Jacobin, 
the Turbit, the Oriental Frill, and the scores of other 
beauties with which our great exhibitions make us all 
familiar. But scientific writers prove to us that it has 
been done, and who but the true fancier has pro- 
duced these results? But T am digressing somewhat 
from the topic of this chapter, and come back to the 
subject, "What Varieties to Breed." 

While I have mentioned a few of the varieties easiest 
cared for, and from which good results can be expected 
by one with little experience, there are many others that 
can be chosen which might answer as well, if the young 
fancier knows of them, and for that purpose I give here- 
with a detailed list of the varieties generally known in 
America. Europe and Asia contain many varieties not 
yet familiar to us, but which in time must come to our 
knowledge as we advance in age and experience. For 
the better guidance of the novice I purpose arrang- 
ing the different varieties into four classes, as follows : 

First, what are generally known among exhibitors 
particularly, as the high-class varieties. These are varie- 



54 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



ties that have distinctive properties or qualities about 
them requiring great care, study, and attention to per- 
fect, and not found in any other kinds. I begin tlie 
list with that king of pigeons, the English Carrier, 
following with its compeer the Pouter, and their asso- 
ciates, the Barb and Short-faced Tumbler in all its 
numerous varieties : 

1st — High-Class Pigeons — The Carrier, Pouter, 
Barb, Short-faced Tumblers. 

2nd — Pigeons possessing distinctive properties re- 
gardless of color and with a strong tendency to impress 
their characteristics upon their progeny, such as the 
Jacobin, Long-faced Tumbler, Owl, Oriental Frill, 
Turbit, Scanderoon, Fantail, Priest, Trumpeter, Frill 
Back, Dragoon, Florentine or Hen Pigeon, Pigmy Pou- 
ter, Moakee, Isabel, Duchesse, Brunswick, Letz, Swift, 
Show Antwerp, Mahomet, Runt. 

3rd — Pigeons which are dependent for quality almost 
entirely upon color of feather and markings, and are 
known usually as Toys. Losing these distinctive prop- 
erties their value as fancy pigeons is gone, and they be- 
come little, if any, better than the common Dove House 
Pigeon. 

The Swallow, Helmet, Nun, Spot, Archangel, Cres- 
cent, Suabian, Fire Back, Shield, Magpie, Breaster, 
Lahore, Ice Pigeon, Starling, Quaker, Stork, Dama- 
scene, Fairy, Hyacinth, Porcelain, Moorcap. 

4th — Pigeons that have few, if any, distinctive quali- 
ties to distinguish them from the common pigeon, but 
that yet possess the homing instinct, and the quality of 
endurance so strong as to entitle them to a place among 
fancy pigeons. 

The Antwerp. 

From this list the young beginner can make as many 

55 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

and as varied selections as he chooses, but I would cau- 
tion him not to commence with too many at once, and 
in his purchases to be also cautious whom he deals with. 

It may be that he is so fortunate as to live in a locality 
where fanciers and breeders are numerous, as in the 
neighborhood of our large cities and towns. If so, he 
can readily learn whom he can place the most confidence 
in, and go to them for what he wants. But if living 
at a distance from any breeders he must then necessarily 
depend upon the various poultry and pigeon papers and 
magazines for information where to buy, and conse- 
quently be, as it were, at the mercy of the dealer. Let 
him, therefore, scan the advertisements closely, and en- 
deavor to get some idea of the character of the adver- 
tiser also, through the medium of the lists of prize- 
winners usually published in these papers. The breed- 
ers who figure as prize-winners are almost always men 
of good character, and by opening a correspondence 
with them, he can learn of their terms and somewhat 
of the quality of the stock they have for sale. 

Let him be guarded about dealing with men of no 
reputation, because their advertisement is well worded, 
and the prices, if given, are low, and remember that a 
low price sometimes, and often, means a poor quality of 
birds. If his means are limited, he had better put it all 
into the hands of a reliable man and obtain one, two, or 
three good pairs, than to buy five times as many from 
a man of no reputation because they are cheap. More 
harm has been done to the fancy through such men than 
can be imagined by any one not acquainted with the 
facts, and it is to warn the uninitiated against such pit- 
falls that I mention it here. 

We are supposing that the young fancier wants to 
begin with good, reliable stock, can afford to pay a fair 



56 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

price for it, and wants some guide as to the direction 
in which to look for the same. If he has no particular 
desire to begin right, and only wants a collection of pig- 
eons, without regard to quality, he had then better in- 
vest in common birds, as he will save money and derive 
afi much satisfaction from breeding them, as from 
breeding poor fancy stock. It will give him just as 
good an opportunity to study and learn the habits of 
pigeons, and fit him if he desires to keep up the pas- 
time; to handle the thoroughbreds as well as though he 
had the refuse of fancy breeders to experiment with 

All breeders produce some specimens that are lacking 
in the qualities needed to make them desirable breeding 
birds even, and while some are conscientious and kill 
all such inferior trash, others again, partly from a dis- 
like to kill their pets, and partly from economical mo- 
tives, dispose of them in a lot at the close of the breed- 
ing season to dealers in fancy birds in the large cities 
who usually find ready customers among boys and im- 
pecunious men fanciers, for such refuse. The breeder 
that sacrifices them all is a benefactor to the fancy, as 
it puts out of the way birds that never ought to be al- 
lowed to go out to the public, and tends more than in 
any other way to perpetuate a high standard among 
pigeons. 

In advising correspondence with reliable breeders, I 
would not advise always commencing with his very best 
prize-winning stock, as this is generally held at a fancy 
and sometimes at an almost prohibitory price, and the 
purchase of such stock, while the inference would natu- 
rally be that it would on the principle of "like produc- 
ing like," be sure to produce almost perfect birds is apt 
to be very disappointing ; as while they are matched 
to meet the purposes of the show-pen, which calls for 



57 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



specimens of the highest standard, the mating for breed- 
hig purposes may not be at all in the proper line for per- 
fection breeding. Therefore the better way would be 
to arrange with him you purpose buying of, to furnish 
vou with good breeding stock, properly mated for best 
results. In this way you will start right, and while the 
specimens sent you may not be just what you have seen 
at the exhibitions, their progeny will be much more like- 
ly to turn out well and satisfactory than though you 
had bought birds matched for appearance only, and the 
price will also be more satisfactory. 

I am supposing now that you are dealing with such 
men as I have recommended, and men who have self- 
respect enough to deal fairly with their customers. 
Should you unfortunately fall into the hands of a "shy- 
ster" or dealer of no principle, do not become discour- 
aged, and class all fanciers in the same category as he, 
but try again and you will find that even your dearly- 
bought experience will not be wholly lost. If possible 
for you to do so, after settling on the varieties you 
would like to keep, purchase two or three pairs of each 
variet}- ; this will then allow of your being able to mate 
up birds for }'our second year's breeding not wholly re- 
lated to each other ; in other words, it will avoid the 
necessity of too close in-and-in breeding, and providing 
you have been fortunate enough to select from breeders 
of character, will give you stock which, while not closely 
related, still has all the elements of a good family in its 
veins necessary to permit of your raising good birds 
and building up a strain of your own. 

In opening a correspondence always state squarely 
what you expect and are looking for, but unless you are 
in want of exhibition birds, do not set your standard 
too high, or you ma}^ run against a rock in the shape 



58 




FANTAIL. 



It would be difficult to find a more popular and 
generally admired bird than the graceful and beautiful 
little Fantail. It is probably a native of India, but is 
extensively bred in England and Ireland, as well as 
here. It is a small, round-bodied bird, slightly hollow 
in center of back, with its swan-like head resting upon 
the cushions. The fan-like tail should be carried well 
up and evenly balanced. The bird stands jauntily on 
its tiptoes with an almost constant motion in a good 
bird. 



59 



The Feather's Practical Piseon Book. 



of an enormous price that will so stagger you as to make 
it seem an impossibility for you to indulge in the diver- 
sion of pigeon breeding. 

The high-class pigeons mentioned in my classifica- 
tions are always expensive, and the better the specimen 
the better the price. A very little difference in the qual- 
ity of individual birds will make a vast difference in 
value. This feature extends through the whole list of 
fancy pigeons ; particular excellence in some desirable 
quality in different members correspondingly increases 
their value and price. It is hard to comprehend when 
first becoming interested in pigeons why those which 
which show to the inexperienced so little real difference 
from others near by are yet held at so much higher fig- 
ures. Experience soon teaches this difference and shows 
how, as I have said, a little difference in quality makes a 
great difference in value. 

So in purchasing be at first satisfied with rather a 
mediocre quality of birds in appearance, as long as you 
know their antecedents are good. Pedigree breeding 
has not as yet been practiced in pigeon breeding to any 
great extent, but there are those who pay some atten- 
tion to it, and we are gradually working up to it. Pedi- 
greed birds, while they may not always produce perfect 
progeny, are less likely to sport, and throw something 
that you are not looking for, than birds picked up here 
and there and thrown promiscuously together with no 
question as to their origin. Hence if you can start with 
pairs of which you can have some idea of the parentage, 
it will be a factor in your favor. There is such a tend- 
ency to retroversion (that is, throwing back to original 
parents) among these birds of uncertain breeding, that 
while parents may have every appearance of quality, 
their young may prove to be nothing but "scrubs." The 

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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



commingling of strange blood is likely to develop the 
taint lying dormant in one or the other. 

Many a fancier has found this out to his sorrow, by 
purchasing some single bird of unknown parentage, and 
mating it with some good specimen of his own, and 
fniding his young prove anything but what he hoped 
for and expected. This does not always happen, but it 
is oftener so than otherwise. Occasionally these chance 
matings prove to be excellent ones, and when such is the 
case there can be some confidence placed in their young 
for breeders for future use. 

Many of my readers may wonder why I have given 
no statement as to the values of pairs of good breeding 
birds. As there is no established price among breeders 
this would be a difficult thing to do, as every man has 
his own price, and like many of the fancy articles of 
trade, much depends on the reputation he has made as a 
prize-winner, and on the quality of birds he has raised 
or has in stock. A breeder might ask for a good pair 
$15.00 this month, and next month be glad to sell at 
$io.cc. Then ag'ain, there is such a wide variation in 
the values of different varieties. While nicely matched 
and mated Tumblers, Duchesse, and Antwerps may be 
bought as low as S3 per pair, the kingly Carrier, the 
dandy Pouter, and the dainty Short-faced Tumbler, if 
of high quality, would readily bring from $100 to $150 
a pair, and even this price would be considered cheap 
for extra-fine specimens of these kinds. The other 
varieties I have given a list of in the preceding pages 
of this chapter would range in price from $5 up to $40 
and $50 per pair, according to the variety, the stock 
descended from, and the parties having them for sale. 
On this basis the young fancier may judge when he 
hears of the Drices asked for the kinds he is in search 



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The Feather's Practical Piireon Book. 



of, something of the quality ofifered for sale. Do not be 
led into purchasing poor specimens because they are 
cheap ; better pay a good round price for something you 
are confident is good, and have the satisfaction of seeing 
presentable youngsters growing up around you, and 
thus save your money, your temper, and your time, as 
well as retaining your love and interest for your feath- 
ered pets. 




62 



CHAPTER V. 

Mating for Breeding. 

We now suppose that the purchases advised in the 
preceding chapter have been made, the results proven 
satisfactory, and that there is now a stock of adult birds 
to commence another season's work with. These must 
necessarily be mated, and as soon as it is determined 
what birds to put together, if one knows their sex they 
can be placed in the mating-cage which has been pre- 
viously spoken of. 

Right here I wish to remark on determining the sex 
of pigeons. In young pigeons not yet matured this is 
a difficult thing to do. Although there are many ways 
advocated for arriving at such a decision, such as hold- 
ing the pigeon in the hand, and with the fingers examin- 
ing the abdominal cavity. The breast-bone of the cock 
is said to be longer, thus extending back and making 
the opening between it and the bones of the ossacrum or 
vent smaller, while in the hen the breast-bone being 
shorter it makes the opening larger. This, however, 
is a very unreliable test, as I have proved by hundreds 
of experiments. 

Another way adopted by some is to take the bill of the 
pigeon between the thumb and forefinger of the left 
hand, and the feet between the same fingers of the right 
hand, and draw them apart, if the pigeon throws its tail 
up, it is a hen, if it hugs it down close to the right hand 
it is a male. It will throw the tail either one way or 
the other, and this test has given me more satisfaction 



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The Feather's Practical Pif^eon Book. 



than any I have tried, and is the only way I adopt for 
testing a promiscuous lot of birds. 

The head of the cock is g-enerally heavier and there 
is an expression about the eye and face, learned only by 
experience, and inexpressible in words, by which an old 
fancier intuitively arrives at his conclusion as to sex. 
Like the human family some members of the pigeon 
faniilv arrive at maturity sooner than others ; these show 
their sex by their lively and salacious actions, and it is 
not difificult to select cock and hen in such cases. But 
these may be the very birds you do not want to put to- 
gether, and those that you do want may be among the 
undemonstrative ones of the flock, consec|uently know- 
ing the parentage or pedigree of those you wish to pair 
the only way is to choose what you judge to be cock 
and hen and place them in the mating-cage. Perhaps 
for days they may show no evidence of sex, although 
they may peck with their bills and strike at each other 
with their wings, and cause you to be at loss to decide 
whether two cocks, two hens, or a pair. After days of 
such strife they may soften and begin making love 
through the partition wires, and even this sometimes is 
deceiving as I have known both cocks and hens to pair 
with members of their own sex. 

But observation will soon enable you to judge pretty 
closely as to whether they are really cock and hen. 
Sometimes it may be a single bird you are in doubt 
about, and everything tends to make you believe it is 
a hen. Then take her alone and put her in one of the 
apartments of the breeding-cage, keeping her there un- 
til thoroughly acquainted with her surroundings. If a 
bold, confident bird, well advanced to maturity, a day or 
two will be enough. If a shy, distrustful one, it may 
take a week. As soon as she seems at home, place in 



64 




BLACK SADDLEBACK FANTAIL. 



These birds are the same as the White Fantail, ex- 
cept that the shoulders and saddle are black, and that 
as to marking and actions they are very difficult to 
breed in perfection. 



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The Feather's Practical Pio'eon Book. 



the other apartment the cock you wish to pair with her. 
He, if a Hvely. active one will begin to strut and coo. 
and then to play about his cage, spreading his tail, and 
in every way possible to attract her attention. She, on 
the other hand, will stand for a time looking at him in 
a surprised sort of manner. If his actions are satisfac- 
tory she will begin to walk about nodding her head up 
and down, swelling out her throat, and winking her 
eyes frequently ; these motions will be supplemented by 
her finally spreading her tail, and with a sort of curt- 
seying movement, sweeping up to the partition between 
them, this will soon be followed by the billing process ; 
after this the cock will settle himself in one corner of 
the pen or cage, commence "ducking" his head, making 
at the same time a peculiar cooing sound. This is 
known as calling to nest, and is good indication that the 
pair are mated and ready to be turned into the loft. 

It may prove that the pigeon you are undecided about 
is a cock-bird ; if so, instead of the peaceful attentions 
shown by the actions just described you will see proud 
and defiant actions, frequently ending in a pigeon fight 
with wings and beak. The sooner such are separated 
the better. Some practice putting the pair they wish to 
mate into a cage without a partition; this is objection- 
able, from the fact that some cocks are very tyrannical, 
and while the birds may pair and be in a measure satis- 
fied with one another, he, in his anxiety for the hen to 
begin building, will drive her about continually, striking 
her with his beak as often as possible on the head, until 
it becomes a mass of raw flesh, and often kept up till 
the skull is bare, and the hen so exhausted as to be un- 
able to move. 

Mating with the partition prevents all this, and they 
need not be put together until one is satisfied all will 



66 



The Feathers Practical Pigeon Book. 

be harmony between them. Sometimes you may know 
the pair you desire to mate are cock and hen, and yet 
the hen may prove a termagant, and in no way satisfied 
with the mate you have chosen for her. She will then 
make it so hot for him, that you, for the sake of peace, 
will be obliged to separate them. This is a case where 
if the partition is removed and they are allowed to come 
together, the cock, if a strong, vigorous bird, may whip 
the hen into submission. But I do not advocate such 
niatings when avoidable, and they do not seem as nat- 
ural, and are certainly not as peaceful as where the two 
accept each other without discord and strife. The pairs 
when properly and satisfactorily mated, can then be 
placed together in the nesting-places, and if my direc- 
tions as to partitions and doors have been followed out, 
can be kept confined there a few days or until they are 
settled in their new quarters, when the screen-door can 
be removed and they allowed the liberty of the loft. 

Previous to putting the mated pairs in the breeding- 
room, it will be advisable to remove any odd males or 
females, if there be any confined there, as they only tend 
to create a disturbance by intruding their attentions on 
the mated pairs. A strong cock will often pair with two 
hens where there is a surplus of hens, and dividing his 
attention between the two, frustrate your breeding 
plans. So sometimes such a cock will drive off the cock 
the breeder has selected and appropriate his hen to his 
own use, and in this way cause a continuous quarrel to 
be kept up, where it is most desirable that concord and 
harmony should prevail. 

The birds being paired and "wonted" to their sep- 
arate apartments, a nest-pan should be provided them, 
half filled with either pine or cedar sawdust as I have 
recommended. Everything being clean and new when 



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The Feather's Praotical Pioeon Book. 



first starting, it is not so necessary to guard against 
insects, but later when changing the sawdust, a few 
drops of turpentine can be sprinkled in the bottom of 
the can, or a little air-slacked lime be placed there and 
sawdust on top of that. For birds just mated and about 
beginning to nest, I would recommend that a few short 
straws and fine twigs be scattered about the floor of the 
loft ; these they will gather up and put in the pan, and in 
this way keep themselves busy, and in a more natural 
condition. This is supposing that your birds are not 
yet allowed full liberty. If allowed to fly out and into 
the loft at will, they will bring in plenty of nesting- 
material, a practice not always conducive to cleanli- 
ness. 

As the time approaches for the hen to lay. the cock 
will place himself in the nest, and, making a peculiar 
gurgling sound, try and induce her to take her place 
there ; this he will vary by continually following her 
about from place to place, and by gentle pecks on the 
head endeavor to induce her to do as he wants her to do. 

This is called driving to nest, and when this takes 
place you can generally depend on the hen soon laying. 
The hen usually lays the first egg in the afternoon, and 
stands over it all the following night and sometimes 
most of the following day. The second egg is laid about 
noon of the third day, when she settles down to the 
work of incubation, sitting all night and until nine or 
ten in the morning, when she is relieved by the cock, 
who sits through the day until four or five in the even- 
ing, when the hen again takes her place, and so the 
alternation is kept up until the young are hatched, which 
is in about eighteen days, counting from the time the 
first egg is laid, or sixteen or seventeen, counting from 
the time the last egg is laid. 



68 




BLUE CARRIER COCK. 

This bird is one of the finest grown, and, although 
to an outsider it may seem unlovely, it is highly regard- 
ed by the fancier. It is a large bird and long feathered, 
and in youth is very sprightly, but loses this in a few 
years. The neck is long and thin, gracefully tapering 
to broadly-set shoulders ; the beak is strong and straight 
and measures not less than one and three-fourths 
inches from center of eye. The beak-wattle is the most 
valuable property of the Carrier, 



69 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

Manv fanciers remove the first egg- until the second is 
laid, believing that then they hatch closer together if 
both, as it were, are started together ; but the fact is as 
the lien does not. as a rule, sit closely on the first egg 
until the second is laid there is usually not so great a 
difference in the time of hatching. I am of the opinion 
that the less the eggs are handled and the hen disturbed 
during the first stages of incubation the better the 
chances of success. If a record be kept of the time of 
laying one can readily tell about what time to expect 
the young to hatch. 

About the tenth day by taking the eggs in the fingers 
and holding them between the eye and a strong light, 
it can be determined whether the eggs are fertile or not. 
If they have young inside of them, they will be dark and 
a greenish shade show about the outside. If infertile, 
they will be pinkish in color, showing that no results are 
to follow further incubation, and might as well be de- 
stroyed. Sometimes one will be dark and the other 
light, and this means only one young will make its ap- 
pearance. If both are infertile, by destroying them it 
breaks up the attempt of the pair to hatch, and after a 
short period of rest the hen will lay another pair. 
Should these prove infertile, it shows that there is some- 
thing wrong in the mating, and the fault is usually laid 
to the cock, who for some cause is unable to fertilize the 
eggs. In such a condition of afifairs it is best to give 
the hen another mate, for it is only a waste of time to 
keep such a pair together. 

Sometimes this cock paired with another hen later 
in the season may do good work, but to keep a pair to- 
gether that prove by their acts that they are not suited 
to each other is a loss of time and patience, and the 
sooner the little hen who shows that she can do her 



70 



The Feather's Practical Pifjeon Book. 



part, is given a mate with virility enough to vitaHze 
her eggs the better tor the plans of the fancier. Some- 
times, though rarely in the case of pigeons, both eggs, 
Vv'hich, on examination on the tenth day, appear to be 
all right, do not hatch, and the time is wasted. What 
may have caused it is often a mystery, but it may be a 
chill, or it may be an extra amount of heat from the 
body of one of the pair. The temperature of one or 
both of the pair may be above the normal, and this be 
the cause, as too much heat as well as not enough will 
kill the embryo in the egg. 

As the time for hatching approaches, the food which 
the parent birds take into their crops undergoes a pe- 
culiar change, turning into a milky fluid, similar to the 
chyle of the human stomach, and is known among fan- 
ciers as "pigeon's milk." This is a singular and won- 
derful provision of Nature, as the little pigeons are born 
blind and utterly helpless, almost naked, save a slight 
covering of yellowish down, and naturally need to be 
kept warm. This the parents provide for by continuing 
to cover them, as they did the eggs, and frequently feed- 
ing them wnth the soft food or "milk" by taking the bill 
of the "squab" in their own, and by a spasmodic action 
of the crop and neck injecting the food into the throat 
of the young bird. As the squabs increase in size, the 
food furnished by the old birds grows coarser and 
coarser, until at the end it is fed almost in the condition 
that the parents take it from the hoppers or feeding- 
dishes. In this feeding process lies one of the great 
secrets of success in breeding. The birds you have seen 
fit to mate together because of their combining elements, 
which one believes will produce nearly perfect speci- 
mens, may be happily and properly mated, may be good 
.sitters, and yet fail utterly as feeders, and so all your 



71 



The Featlier's Practical Piffeon Book. 



calculations in that direction come to naught, for unless 
properly and regularly fed the young birds can not live. 

Some varieties are notably poor feeders, such as Car- 
riers, Pouters, Short-faced Tumblers, Barbs, and some 
of the other short-billed varieties, and while they may 
for the first few days do very well, after this they be- 
come negligent and the young suffer accordingly. Many 
fanciers, after learning the failings of their breeders, 
guard against it by providing foster-parents from some 
of the better feeding varieties, and as soon as the young 
are hatched transfer them to the nest of the foster-par- 
ents, having previously arranged that the two pairs shall 
hatch about the same time. The young of the foster- 
pair being substituted for those of the fancy pair, 
enables the poor feeders to feed off their "soft feed," as 
it is termed, otherwise they w^ould sicken and perhaps 
die. At any rate, it would affect them to such an extent 
as to prevent their laying again for some time, while by 
feeding off this "soft feed" it keeps the system in a 
healthy condition and Nature is not interrupted in her 
actions. 

Sometimes the best-laid schemes, like those of ''mice 
and men," miscarry, and the supposed poor nurses raise 
their mongrel pair, while the reliable pair neglect their 
charges, and the hoped-for good results come to noth- 
ing. But this does not often occur where you know 
your feeders. But the best of them are erratic, and 
often by their irregular attentions spoil one's calcula- 
tions, so that breeding after all becomes a matter of 
luck. For feeders you can use common pigeons, Ant- 
werps or Tumblers, in fact any pair that experience tells 
you attend carefully to their young. I have found that 
varieties such as Carriers, Pouters, and Barbs, that are 
notoriously bad nurses when kept in confinement, fre- 



72 




BAR.B. 

One of the oldest varieties of pigeons is the Barb or 
Barbary as it was once called. Preferably a large, well- 
shaped bird with fine carriage, large and shapely head, 
gracefully curved broad skull, short white beak, thick 
and curving sufificiently to carry out the unbroken out- 
line in profile. The beak-wattle though not large should 
1)6 close and even in texture, somewhat resembling a 
saddle with a distinct division line through the center — ■ 
the eye, light or pearly with rich, red wattles, large, 
circular, and thick, standing out from the skull. This 
is a justly popular bird, not only here but in France and 
Germany as well. 



73 



The Feather's Practical Piceon Book. 



quently when given perfect liberty to go in and out as 
they please, having plenty of outdoor exercise, make 
as good feeders as one could wish. The change from 
the artificial to the natural conditions seems to work 
wonders in such cases. 

In making selections for feeders, as far as possible 
select them according to the varieties you want to raise ; 
for instance for long-billed varieties, you want long- 
billed feeders, for the short-billed, you want either short 
or medium-billed varieties, for it can be readily seen 
that a short-billed bird, no matter how good a feeder, 
could not feed a Carrier or a Pouter as well as an Ant- 
werp, a Dragoon, or a common pigeon. While most 
I'outer breeders find it necessary to employ nurses for 
raising their young, I have, in my long experience, 
known of one Pouter breeder who raised a great many 
in the course of a season, and who depended alone on 
his Pouters to care for their young; this they did as per- 
fectly as any pigeons do, and go to his lofts at any time 
and you would find plenty of fat squabs in the nests, and 
well-matured squealers running about the floor. An- 
other thing, he disregarded all advice and example in 
the matter of feeding hemp-seed. He scattered it about 
lavishly and his birds were never without it. It may be 
that the stimulating efifects of this grain was the cause 
of such good results in raising so many. But like the 
effects of strong drink, once addicted to the use of it, 
it became a necessity, for Pouters taken from the loft 
and fed in the usual way, soon lost their sprightly ap- 
pearance, and if they did not die, it took a long time for 
them to again regain their life and animation, and come 
back to what we might term a normal condition. 

In choosing feeders also some consideration must be 
taken of their dispositions. As far as possible select 



74 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book, 



those of a quiet and courageous disposition, and avoid 
those of a wild and nervous temperament, as such are 
likely to jump from the nest at your approach, a habit 
that greatly interferes with incubation. Should the be- 
ginner be so situated as not to have any feeders for his 
young squabs, and notice that the parent birds were 
neglecting them, he can feed them artificially, if they are 
valuable, by taking crackers or toasted bread crushed 
fine and mixed with warm milk or warm water, then 
taking a small syringe, either of glass or rubber and in- 
jecting the food into their throats. This can be done 
until the little crop is well filled. Three or four doses 
of this kind each day wall bring the young birds through 
all right. As they grow older and able to take coarse 
grain, soak peas, wheat, or small corn, till well swollen, 
then put these into the mouth, when they will swallow 
and soon fill their crop. Some fanciers, more enthusias- 
tic than fastidious, take this food in their own mouths, 
masticate it well, then taking the young bird in their 
hands and placing its bill in their mouth, with the assist- 
ance of the tongue force the masticated grain into the 
young bird's mouths and so fill their crops. 

The young pigeon soon learns to like this manner of 
feeding and will evince the greatest apparent joy at the 
master's approach, squealing^ flapping its little stubs of 
wings, and raising up and down in the nest. Many a 
good bird has been raised in this manner, but I would 
only advise the practice in case of necessity. A watch- 
ful fancier visits his lofts often and can soon tell what 
pairs are feeding well and what are neglecting their 
charges, by feeling of their little crops. If well filled 
and distended and the young bird feels warm you may 
know the parents or nurses are attending to their busi- 
ness. Sometimes you will find a young bird with a crop 



75 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

full of hard grain and his body cold and clammy. This 
shows the old birds have been feeding grain it can not 
digest and that it is not benefiting the squab. There is 
not much hope for such a case except to keep it warm 
by some artificial means and give some warm, soft food. 
This will sometimes save it. 

Young, healthy pigeons grow very fast when properly 
fed ; in fact, you can see the increase in size from day to 
day. Often one of the young pigeons will grow faster 
than the other, which shows that the stronger bird is 
getting the most of the feed. In this case it will be 
necessary to give the weaker one some assistance by 
artificial feeding as heretofore recommended. While 
I believe cleanliness to be a necessity and every way an 
advantage, I do not believe in carrying it so far as to 
interfere with breeding operations, and think that the 
less the old and young both are disturbed the better the 
chances for success. Some breeders make a practice 
of cleaning their nest-pans during the breeding season, 
every few days, transferring the young to a fresh bed of 
sawdust, by exchanging the nest-pans. This may work 
well with quiet dispositioned birds, but I believe the bet- 
ter way would be, not to disturb the young birds at all 
until ready to leave the nests themselves. Of course, 
the accumulation of filth about the nest will be consider- 
able, but if this is frequently sprinkled with sawdust or 
what is even better, land plaster, it will absorb all the 
ammonia and render it dry. I think it will be found 
especially in the case of shy, suspicious birds, that they 
will feed the young longer and also that the young birds 
will stick to the nest longer than if frequently moved, 
a condition very desirable to prevent their being abused, 
as they frequently are when out of the nest before they 
can care for themselves. 



76 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



Frequently the hen-bird wiU be ready to lay again 
before the previous squabs are fully fledged, and she 
should then be given a pan in the spare apartment of 
their shelf where the pair can again sit undisturbed. If 
the first squabs stick to their nest the old birds will con- 
tinue to feed them and so the work goes on happily and 
uninterruptedly until the first pair are able to care for 
themselves. While pigeons are feeding their young 
great care must be observed in keeping them well sup- 
plied with food, for no food for the old birds means 
starvation for the young ones, as the old birds when tak- 
ing food for themselves must in reality have enough 
for two or three and unless they have plenty the young 
ones will suffer accordingly ; so the hoppers or feed- 
dishes should be kept well supplied at all times and the 
water be plenty and fresh. 

It is at this time that the old birds like the toasted or 
dry bread so well, and it makes excellent food for young 
and old, and, therefore, one dish should be devoted to 
that alone. The soaked bread, bran, and bone previous- 
ly recommended will be found beneficial at this time 
also, especially for the varieties where size is an object 
to be desired. To induce young birds to care for them- 
selves a little wheat or small peas should be scattered 
about as soon as they leave the nest in the locality where 
they are seeing the old ones eat ; this will call their at- 
tention to it and they will soon learn to feed themselves. 

Young birds brought up by hand are slower to learn 
than those properly fed by their parents, but hunger is 
a good prompter, and it does not take a hungry young- 
ster long to learn what the grain is scattered about for. 
I have, in a previous chapter, recommended having a 
separate room for youngsters that have been weaned 
and that can care for themselves. Where possible this 



77 



The Feather's Practical Picjeon Book. 



is a great advantage, as they then do not annoy their 
parents while attending to the cares of a second family, 
and are, also, free from any chances of abuse from other 
members of the loft that they may importune "for a 
feed." Some male birds will feed any youngster that 
may solicit it, whether his own or not. Others are more 
pugnacious, and resent any such familiarity with severe 
punishment, and it is such that I want to guard against 
in recommending a separate room for all weanlings. 

Soon after being weaned a partial molt takes place 
of the body-feathers known as "shedding the nest-feath- 
crs." These feathers are all dropped gradually through 
the summicr, until the bird has all of its adult plumage. 
Wing- and tail-feathers are shed about the time of the 
annual autumnal molt, except in the case of very late- 
hatched birds, when they are retained until the follow- 
ing year's autumn molt. The age of young birds can 
be pretty correctly determined by their feathers. In 
young birds, fully fledged, but still squealing, the body- 
feathers will be laced with a very narrow edging of 
reddish-brown color. The wing- and tail-feathers are 
comparatively short and narrow. As they increase in 
age, these laced feathers are replaced by the broader and 
clear adult feathers of the body, and when the complete 
fall molt takes place the wing- and tail-feathers are also 
replaced by longer and broader feathers. So that if a 
young bird is found to have all of its body-plumage 
and its wing- and tail-plumage as well, it can be counted 
on being at least five or six months old. If younger 
than this some of its nest-feathers will be found in 
wings and tail. A young bird can also be told by its 
feet and bill. Where an adult bird's feet will usually be 
bright red and firm in texture, the young bird's will be 
of a bluish-red cast and soft and fine. 



78 




BLACK JACOBIN. 

In England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as in this 
country, the Jacobin is a popular and widely-bred pig- 
eon, and deservedly so, as it is a very high-class bird 
with many distinct properties and can be cultivated 
successfully in many climates. It is a medium-sized 
bird, full breasted, long, and slender, with a jaunty car- 
riage, holding its head about eight inches from the 
ground. Its head is small, hidden to the eyes by the 
long hood. The eye is pearl, white, or sometimes orange- 
tinted ; beak, short, and rather thick ; wattle, small and 
smooth, and eye-wattle, small, circular, and prominent. 
Head from the mouth and eye upwards white, also the 
tail-coverts and primary flight-feathers. The rest of 
the bird is black. 



79 



The P'eather's Practical Pisreon Book. 



Many young birds are very "precocious" or forward ; 
that is, mature very early, and I have known them to 
mate and breed at the age of six months. But the breed- 
er for fancy does not want to permit this where possi- 
ble, as it is better for his purposes that they be allowed 
to become fully mature before entering upon the duties 
of raising a family. Consequently he needs to keep 
them apart, that is, the sexes, until time for spring mat- 
ing. When the proper time arrives to mate birds for 
the season's work, which in the latitude of New York 
should be about the 14th of February, the fancier should 
look his stock carefully over and endeavor, as far as pos- 
sible, to put such birds together as combine the qualities 
he is seeking for. 

If he still has the original stock birds he purchased 
the preceding year, he knows what they have produced, 
and if their young proved to be good specimens he can 
mate them again. If their progeny proved unsatisfac- 
tory, it will then be necessary to give them other mates. 
Sometimes mating a son to his mother or a father to 
his daughter will strengthen and help to improve qual- 
ities peculiar to the variety. Brother and sister I would 
never, unless unavoidable, put together. But a young 
cock put to a young female of another pair, al- 
though there may be close relation between them, is 
preferable to mating brother and sister. What we want 
to aim at in breeding is a proper balancing of all the 
fancy points, so as to have them as near perfect as pos- 
sible ; not to mate so there shall be an excess of quality 
in one particular point to the exclusion of some other 
quality equally as necessary. 

For instance, take Turbits (a hard variety to breed 
perfect, by the way) ; I would not want to mate two 
birds fine every way in head and beak, but deficient in 



80 



The Feather's Practical Pifjeon Book. 



frill and color,' for the natural inference would be that 
their progeny, while they might be splendid in head and 
beak, would be almost void of frill and so poor in 
shoulder-coloring as to be disqualified for an exhibition 
bird. The proper mating would be to take a young cock 
bred from well-mated parents > with say good quality 
in head-properties, and cross him with a hen lacking in 
such properties, but possessed of good shape, good frill, 
and good color. This would be equalizing the proper- 
ties possessed by the pair, and the results would proba- 
bly show that a step nearer the desired point of com- 
bined excellence had been made. While the young 
might not show the perfection of the male in beak-qual- 
ities, for instance, they would still be likely to be good 
in this particular, and combined with this have good 
frills, shape, and color. I know with Turbit breeders 
at the time I am writing everything is sacrificed for 
head-qualities, but I can not acknowledge these alone 
to constitute a perfect Turbit, and believe if judges do 
their duty they will insist on perfection in frill, shape, 
color of shoulders, and cleanness of thighs, as well as 
shortness of beak, shape of head, and perfection of shell 
or crest, in the make-up of an exhibition specimen. 

In mating any birds together, I would avoid, as far as 
possible, mating extremes, unless it were known that 
the deficient bird had been bred from birds of fairly 
good quality. This is where a perfect knowledge of ante- 
cedents is necessary. Having this knowledge, you can 
calculate how to select proper mates for certain indi- 
viduals. All pigeons will throw some poor specimens 
occasionally, and these poor specimens, where the par- 
ents are known to be good, can be safely mated with a 
bird of superior excellence with an expectation of good 
results. But I would not advise mating two poor speci- 



81 



The Feather's Practical Pigeou Book. 

mens, no matter how good the parents may have been. 
As these birds combine in their make-up, all the bad 
elements of the parent birds, and while chance might 
show something of good quality, it is against all the 
principles of breeding to in ate bad with bad. 

In mating solid-colored birds together, like Barbs, 
Owls, Carriers, Dragoons, etc., for exhibition purposes, 
attention needs to be paid to color as well as head-prop- 
erties. In Carriers the practice has always been to mate 
Blacks and Duns together to get good Blacks, and the 
results of so doing will be likely to prove more satisfac- 
tory if the Dun is known to be descended from Blacks. 
So to get good Duns, if the Black has descended from 
Duns the result will be likely to be good Duns. This 
will apply equally as well to Barbs and other varieties. 
Reds and Yellows can be crossed together for these 
colors, and if the parents are descended from either of 
the colors, whichever is the strongest color in the par- 
ents' veins will be likely to show in the progeny. A 
Black descended from a Red, if mated to a Red, would 
be likely to give rich deep Reds. Sometimes, however, 
the union instead of producing a Red of clean color 
throughout will produce a Red with a bluish tail and 
rump, a very objectionable feature in a Barb, or it may 
be one will be a Red and the other a Dun. 

Yellows and Duns mated together will occasionally 
give a rich yellow, especially if the Dun has yellow 
blood in its veins. Reds can be mated together with 
expectations of good results if thev are known to have 
descended from Reds. Frequently, however, such a 
union will show a Black in the nest, especially if there 
is Black blood in the parents' veins. In mating Yel- 
lows, if one of the pair is known to have Red blood in 
its constitution the Yellow is likely to be more satisfac- 





BLACK MAGPIE. 

One of the finest of our toy varieties of pigeons is 
undoubtedly the Magpie. Originating in the Tumbler, 
it has now become a distinct class by itself with many 
admirers. It is a small bird, slender and snake-like, full- 
chested, with long, thin body, and a sprightly carriage. 
Head, long; skull, depressed, but not flat, curving easily 
in all direction? ; beak, salmon tinted and about half an 
inch long ; beak- wattle, fine and small ; eye, white or 
pearl, prominent, but gentle; cere, small, bright red or 
pink ; neck, " snakey " ; tail, long and compactly placed ; 
flights, narrow, evenly folded and carried high above 
tail; legs and thighs, long and thin but not stilty; head, 
neck, breast, back, saddle, and tail, black, — rest of the 
body white. 



83 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



tory than if both were descended from Yellow. Mating 
two Yellows, in which the Yellow blood predominates, 
is likely to produce pale yellow progeny. Frequently, 
when two Reds are mated, especially if there is Yellow 
blood in both, there will be one, if not two. Yellows in 
the nest, and if by such a union Reds are produced the 
results will be light Reds. While Dun is regarded by 
some as an objectionable color to mate with Reds and 
Yellows, in consequence of the tendency of the young 
to appear with ashy-colored rumps and tails, still if the 
Dun has Red or Yellow blood in it, I should not hesitate 
to make the cross, especially if a good rich Dun, for 
the reason that the results of such a union would show 
flesh-colored bills, a very desirable quality in Reds and 
"^^ellows of any variety. 

The mating for color can be seen by what I have said 
to be something of a game of chance, and it is certainly 
a problem requiring deep study and a thorough under- 
standing of the flock. It may be necessary to improve 
the color of Red, Yellow, Dun, or Black birds to intro- 
duce at times new blood to your loft. In such a case I 
should recommend as a step towards this improvement 
to introduce a good, rich, glossy Black, if you can find 
one of good parentage, or a rich, deep Red descended 
from Blacks. Such a graft would be most likely to 
improve your color in this line. Blues and Silvers, es- 
pecially in Owls, Fantails, and Dragoons, are colors 
that must be properly mated for, to produce good 
shades of these colors. While the chances are not so 
much against you as in mating the other colors men- 
tioned, still they require study, in Fantails particularly, 
where there is a tendency of the Blue to come clouded 
or even Blue Chequered. For instance, two Blues that 
have Black blood in them when mated together would 



84 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



be likely to throw Chequered or clouded Blues, or they 
might even produce one, if not two. Blacks in each nest. 
It is not uncommon for two Black Fans, when mated 
together, to produce one and even two Blues, and the 
natural supposition in such a case would be that both 
birds had a preponderance of Blue blood in their veins, 
and that the union developed that color to the exclusion 
of Black. 

But these are chances that we want in mating to 
avoid, where possible, so that we may know in mating 
certain colors together we may be certain of reproduc- 
ing them in the young. Where pairs are thoroughly 
understood it is generally known beforehand about what 
colors they will produce, but how to mate their progeny 
with others of same stock is where reflection is neces- 
sary; to so mate two Red birds together as to get a 
preponderance of Red blood, or to so mate a Yellow 
and a Red as to get same results. On the other hand 
a Red bred from a Black sire or mother, if mated with a 
Black, would be likely to give a good, glossy Black. So 
a Blue crossed with a Silver with Blue blood in its sys- 
tem would be likely to give a clear Blue with black bars ; 
or a light Blue bred from Silver, and again crossed with 
Silver, would be likely to give a good bright Silver. 

As the painter prepares his different shades of color 
by mixing certain proportions of the primary colors to- 
gether, so the fancier, by a proper knowledge of the par- 
entage of his birds, learns to mate them for required 
results. 

While I have so far spoken mainly of color, the other 
points, such as bills, eyes, frills, flights, booting, peaks, 
and caps, all need to be studied and calculated for in the 
same manner as color. The Turbit and Owl with small 
frills should be mated to a bird with a greater develop- 



85 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

ment of this feature. The Swahow, with a narrow cap 
or light booting, needs a mate with broader cap and 
heavier booting. The Trumpeter, with a small, uneven 
rose, needs a mate with a well-developed one, and so 
through all the various characteristics of the different 
varieties we must supply in one of the mates, as far as 
possible, what is lacking in the other. We can not ex- 
pect to attain perfection in any one specimen, but by 
close attention to the laws of breeding, as laid down in 
this and other manuals, we must expect to reach a high- 
er standard of excellence than can be reached by chance 
or haphazard breeding. 

Many in reading this article might suppose I had 
reference wholly to solid-colored birds in my remarks 
concerning color, but the same principle applies to all 
parti-colored birds as well, such as the Swallow, the 
Turbit, the Nun, the jMagpie, etc. For instance, in mat- 
ing Swallows and Turbits we aim to avoid mating two 
birds together with a tendency to show too much color, 
vvhich manifests itself in foul feathers on the breast, 
thighs, neck, and head ; in the Nun in too great a de- 
velopment of the bib, too many colored flights, too much 
coloring in the cap; in the Magpie with too much color 
on the breast and back ; and so with others of like char- 
acter, like the ITelmet, the Shield, the Spot, the Jacobin, 
and Bald Tumbler. All need to be mated so that the 
color shall be evenly distributed in the portions of the 
body to which it belongs. 

In breeding several varieties together in one loft, with 
the utmost care our attempts at perfect breeding will 
sometimes be baffled by a very amorous hen receiving 
the attentions of a cock more active than her mate. This 
does not often occur, and unless one can confine himself 
to one variety and one color, is a chance that must be 




BLUE DRAGOON. 

If the Carrier is first of onr varieties the Dragoon 
is a close second with its harmonious combination of 
shape, color, and size. The Dragoon should be nearly 
as large as a Carrier, with a commandmg and graceful 
carriage, plump and compact ; neck, short and thick ; 
breast, broad and prominent ; back, flat ; shoulders, clear- 
ly defined ; wings, strong, with flights well above the 
tail ; the tail and flights short, but in proportion to the 
bird; legs, short with muscular and stout thighs; head, 
wedge-shaped ; skull, oval in form with stout beak and 
mandible. The bird is rich, deep blue, with broad bars 
clearly defined. 



87 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



taken, although at times very provoking. SoUd-colored 
birds are the most satisfactory and easiest to breed, and 
do not need quite as fine judgment in mating as the 
parti-colored varieties. For this reason some discard 
all others and confine themselves to birds of one color. 

While the difficulties attending the breeding of birds 
of mixed color are more numerous than that of whole 
colors, the satisfaction derived from producing good 
specimens in this line well repays the trials and vexation 
one is liable to in the attempt. After the second year's 
breeding one ought to be able to form some correct idea 
of how to mate his young birds. He also surely knows 
by this time what his original stock will produce and be 
prepared to make such changes as his judgment dictates 
in them. If the original stock live and breed well to- 
gether by all means let well enough alone. If, however, 
he finds that their progeny come foully marked, or as 
it is in the case of parti-colored birds, show too much 
color, or in the case of solid-colored birds, show deficien- 
cies or excesses of certain required points, then it will 
be best to make a change, "breaking" the pair and try- 
ing them again with mates of your own selection. Per- 
haps a union with some of their own ofiFspring will pro- 
duce good results ; mating the parent bird, that is de- 
ficient in some qualities, with a young bird that has an 
excess of such qualities and vice versa. 

Blit there can be no iron-clad law in this matter ; it 
must be a matter of selection, dictated by your experi- 
ence and your acquaintance with your birds. There is 
a tendency with all well-bred stock to transmit their 
qualities both good and bad, to their offspring, and what 
we want in mating, is to so combine the good qualities, 
as to reproduce them, to the exclusion of the bad, in the 
succeeding generation. I do not suppose the time will 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



ever come when we shall see all pigeons perfect. But 
experience shows us that all the fancy properties of the 
various breeds can be improved, and the study required 
is to know how and what to mate to produce standard 
birds. 

Undoubtedly careful in-breeding goes far towards 
perpetuating certain good qualities, but it must be done 
with judgment and not in a reckless, thoughtless man- 
ner. Having several pairs of one kind bred from one 
stock, will aid you much in the matter of mating, and 
enable you better to decide how to in-breed them to pro- 
duce high-class birds of their variety. All established 
strains have been bred for the purpose of perfecting 
the characteristics that go to make up a good bird, and 
having these characteristics, in a measure, fixed in them 
by combining the blood of relatives, it is not as difhcult 
to improve a defici<"ncv in one bird by mating it to a 
bird more perfect in character than it is where entirely 
foreign blood is introduced to accomplish same results. 
IMany a fancier has found that the introduction of such 
alien blood, has worked havoc In his flock simply be- 
cause he has chosen a bird because it looked well and 
of which he knew nothing as to its breeding. 

If after your second season's breeding, you have been 
successful in raising a few birds of superior merit, do 
not be tempted to part with them, as in them you must 
find another step towards perfection in your flock. Like 
the friend whose afifection has been tried, hold to them 
as it were with "hooks of steel," for they are worth 
more to you if you want to keep up the improvement 
of your stock than the paltry dollars of your customer. 
We are supposing that the fancier is breeding for qual- 
ity and the love of the pursuit, and not for the profit 
there is in it. This will come when he has so far im- 



89 



The Feather's Practical Pioeoii Book. 



proved his flock that he breeds more good specimens 
than poor ones. Establish its qnahty and reputation, 
and the profits are sure to follow. 

In mating for color properties, it has been found by 
experience, that the male generally exercises more in- 
fluence in that line than the hen, while inbreeding for 
form, size, and other characteristics, the hen exercises 
the controlling influence. Bearing this in mind one 
should be governed in his mating accordingly, and if 
he is looking for improvement in color, be careful m the 
selection of the cock. If for size, length of limb, de- 
velopment of wattle, size of beak, crest or frill, look to 
the hen for these qualities chiefly. In other words, if 
you are looking for improvement in these particulars 
choose hens that are well developed in these respects in 
preference to those deficient, and the chances are better 
for satisfactory results. 

At the commencement of breeding experience, I 
would advise the young breeder to keep a correct record 
of the breeding of his )Oung stock in such a way that 
he can tell at any subseciuent moment how each bird 
has been bred. This will aid him greatly in the future 
when mating up his birds and does not oblige him to 
trust to memory, which is a very unreliable manner of 
keeping a pedigree. By knowing the breeding of each 
specimen, he is enabled to tell whether descended from 
a pair closely related to each other or not ; whether the 
pair had too much color, too great a deficiency in some 
desirable property, or whether inclined to throw birds 
of superior quality generally. Knowing the tendencies 
of the parent birds on both sides, he can form a clearer 
and more correct judgment as to what he may expect 
from the two that he wants to put together, and so 
guard against mating young birds that both come from 



90 




ARCHANGEL. 

The Archangel is practically a modern production, but 
its beautiful plumage is rapidly making- it a favorite. 
It is like other varieties as to its shape, size, and car- 
riage, but its markings are distinctive. The head, neck, 
breast, and under-parts, as far as the vent and thighs, 
are a rich copper-bronze color with a beautiful metallic 
luster. The wings, back, and rump, are bronze-black, 
with tail a blue-black. They are naturally wild and 
graceful. 



91 



The Feather's Practical Pij>eon Book. 



parents with tendency to breed to extremes in any par- 
ticular points. This keeping of pedigree and aiming at 
all times towards perfection, is one step towards build- 
ing up a strain. 

After selecting the variety or varieties you want to 
keep, study well the required standard of these kinds 
and then proceed, if necessary, with one property at a 
time, perfecting it as far as you can and then take up an- 
other, harmonizing all as far as possible, and not per- 
fecting one or two peculiarities, to the neglect of others. 
For instance, if in Carriers, do not try to perfect their 
wattling and forget length of beak, length of neck, and 
carriage. If in Pouters, do not perfect length and feath- 
ering of leg, to the exclusion of size of crop and length 
of feather. And so through all the different varieties, 
endeavor to equalize all properties for which the variety 
is distinguished, and so make a pleasing whole. Time 
and patience are required for all this, but it will be time 
and patience well expended, for in the end you will have 
created a family whose offspring are almost certain of 
being suitable for exhibition, a feature that determines 
the quality oi any kind of stock. To say they are fit to 
exhibit means they are of quality to compare with the 
best. Reaching this period you arc then ready to reap 
your harvest of "gold", as birds with such a reputation 
never lack for customers or a market. 



92 



CHAPTER VI. 



The Pleasure of Pigeon Keeping. 

According to our population, the proportion that ap- 
pears to love and enjoy the keeping and breeding of 
fancy pigeons is small. This is perhaps owing to the 
fact that we are such a practical people and want to see 
money returns in all our investments. And every one 
who indulges in this luxury knows that the cash returns 
for the money invested and the time and care devoted 
to such an amusement do not cover the expense. 

If every pigeon raised were worth its weight in gold, 
the breeders would be like the leaves of the forest. 
With their attractiveness and beauty, it would seem as 
if every country home at least should have its place for 
pigeons ; and no doubt if the pleasure derived from 
watching and caring for them were understood, it would 
be a recreation more generally indulged in. But the 
ignorance displayed among country towns and villages 
concerning the habits, beauties, and lovable qualities of 
these choicest of pets is astonishing and lamentable. 
Nowhere is it more frequently made apparent than at 
our fall shows. The judge, in performance of his du- 
ties, is called upon to answer the most absurd questions 
and listen to most amusing comments, such as "What 
makes that bird blow his breast out like that? I should 
not think he could see to eat. Does it make him fly any 
better?" and "Oh, John! just come here and see this 
pigeon — how mad he is ; he raises the feathers upon his 
neck just like a cat !" and "Do those birds with the big 
tails have to carry them that way all the time ? I should 



93 



I 



The Feather's Practiea] Pig-eon Book. 



think it would make them tired." These are only a few 
samples of what the judge has to hear. But I repeat, it 
shows lamentable ignorance among those whom we 
would suppose should at least know something of the 
characteristics of these denizens of the loft. 

If pigeon breeding were more general and the same 
pains taken with them that is given to cage-birds, 
the dove-cote would soon become as necessary to 
every country house as the flowers that bloom in the 
door-yard, and these we all know are only kept alive anrl 
brought to perfection by constant care. It is said that 
in Arabia every mud-hut has its accommodations for 
pigeons ; in Russia they are well known and regarded 
as sacred, and every one has heard of the pigeons of 
Venice. The old Romans were great lovers of fancy 
pigeons, and Pliny says of his countrymen : "Many are 
mad with the love of them ; they build towers on the top 
of their roofs and will relate the high breeding and an- 
cestry of each." So that we may see from this that 
pedigree breeding is no modern idea ; and as to the 
madness of our modern fanciers, when a man pays $250 
and $300 for a pair of pigeons, those not interested 
might well think him mad. People of oriental countries 
have from time immemorial been fanciers, and some of 
our choicest varieties — in fact, I may say most of them — 
had their origin in those far-off lands. We send mis- 
sionaries to teach them our religion ; they might send 
missionaries to us to teach us of the pleasure to be de- 
rived from originating new varieties of pigeons and in 
perfecting those we alreadv know. ]\Iy observation 
teaches me that while the fancy may not be increasing 
in numbers, it is certainlv increasing in the knowledge 
of the principles of breeding, as is shown by the im- 
provement in all varieties of pigeons known to us. Note 



94 



The Feather's Practical Pioeon Book. 



particularly the Fantails, the Jacobins, the Archangels, 
the Magpies, and the Oriental Frills. I mention these 
because they at present are the most prominent ; but 
Turbits, Tumblers, Owls, Swallows, and all the old. 
favorites show the effect or increased knowledge and 
care in breeding. The difficulty as to increase in the 
numbers of the fancy lies in the fact that so many, as 
age comes on, are obliged to give up their pets through 
the demands of business on their minds and time. I 
could count by scores men that I have known who were 
the most ardent of fanciers, who to-day do not own a 
bird, but there are few of those who, if circumstances 
would permit, but would return to their love and again 
take up the pursuit. 

Much has been written as to encouraging the love of 
pigeons among children, and it is no doubt from among 
the }-ounger portion of the communit}- that we must 
look for recruits ; still if it were not for the older and 
more experienced heads we would not have seen the 
advancement in pigeon culture that we have in the past 
few years. So let us hope that those maturer minds 
who are now doing so much to elevate the standard of 
pigeons, may long be spared to us to keep up the interest 
and enlighten and encourage the young. 

The question is often asked by the uninitiated, what 
are fancy pigeons good for? What are they kept for? 
Our answer is always, only for pleasure. And then we 
enter into a dissertation of how one man finds pleasure in 
developing the fancy points of such varieties as Pouters 
and Carriers ; another of Barbs or Almond Tumblers. 
How one has a passion to possess a fine flock of all the 
different, colors of Swallows. How another makes a 
siudv of Nuns, breeding them with an aim to perfecting 
them to such an extent that they shall have the neces- 



95 



The Feather's Practical Pisreon Book. 



sary marking of the head and throat, the perfect number 
of flights in each wing, and the necessary number of 
colored tail-feathers free from blemish. Some become 
so infatuated as to desire to possess specimens of all the 
different varieties. This involves not only great ex- 
pense, but requires spacious accommodations and help 
to care for them. Such a hobby soon runs its course, 
and the fancier, if he does not wholly relinquish the 
amusement, settles down on one or two pretty varieties, 
and finds that time devoted to developing their good 
qualities is time much more satisfactorily spent than 
when divided among so many. 

The question is often asked, also, who comprise your 
fanciers ? are they all boys ? For this seems like a boyish 
amusement. But no, the fanciers are as varied in age 
and occupation as the pigeons themselves. We have 
physicians, lawyers, clergymen, merchants, gentlemen 
of leisure, shoe-makers, carpenters, blacksmiths, labor- 
ers, and boys of all ages. There is no restriction placed 
upon converts to this fancy ; it is a free-for-all amuse- 
ment, and all that is needed is the love for it and the 
wherewithal to gratify such a love or taste. So like- 
wise the accommodations are as varied as the votaries 
of the pleasure. Some are satisfied with a few boxes 
placed against a wall ; others, again, with the gable end 
of a house, or barn, and others spend hundreds of dol- 
lars in elaborately-arranged and furnished aviaries, 
where the pigeons are supplied with every luxury that 
they have a love for, and where friends and visitors can 
sit and enjoy their many pretty ways, and varied forms 
and plumage. But be the accommodations humble or 
magnificent, the enjoyment obtained is as great for one 
as for the other. The poor man's pets have as many at- 
tractions for him as do the more favored ones of the 



96 



The Feather's Practical Pi "eon Book. 



wealthy fancier for their owner. The nature and habits 
of the pigeons are not changed by their surroundings. 
BilUng and cooing, pairing and breeding go on as 
jiappily in the hovel as in the mansion, and the poor 
man, sitting on his haunches in his cramped and con- 
tracted garret, sees as much to admire, love and delight 
him as his more favored brother, with his aviaries of 
wire and glass. 

All classes of fanciers find the pigeon-loft and aviary 
a pleasant place to pass a restful hour. Here the phy- 
sician, while watching his birds, can calmly study out 
some efficient remedy for a baffling disease ; the lawyer 
smoke and solve a knotty problem of law ; the clergy- 
man find practical matter for a sermon from the text, 
"Vet shall 3^e be as the wings of a dove, that is covered 
with silver wings, and her feathers like gold" ; the mer- 
chant find relief from the perplexity of figures and the 
importunity of collectors ; the man of leisure from the 
demands of society and the whirl of fashionable life. The 
shoemaker, the carpenter, the blacksmith, and the labor- 
er seek their lofts in the early morning, and when the 
day's work is done ; and the pleasure they derive in 
handling and caring for their pets serves to cheer and 
lighten their labors through the following day, and is 
a loadstone that helps to call them home when the day's 
labors are ended. Many a man and boy have been kept 
from evil associations by the attractions afforded by a 
few pigeons about their humble homes. 

While each may have his favorites, and derive pleas- 
ure from the various kinds he owns, those who keep a 
ilock of flying pigeons, such as Antwerps, Dragoons, or 
any of the varied family of. Tumblers, probably find a 
greater diversity of amusement than those who have 
nothinsf to admire but form and feather. The mania or 



97 



The P'eather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

fad for pigeon flying is not a modern idea. As long 
as pigeons have been kept for pets, a certain portion of 
the fanciers have found recreation in training individual 
families as flyers, until the faculty for flying long and 
high has been fixed in these particular varieties and now 
the quality is transmitted from parent to offspring, and 
all that is necessary is the practice to develop it. 

History informs us that all the nations of Asia and 
portions of Africa have used pigeons as a means of com- 
munication from time immemorial. The Turks, the 
Greeks, and the Romans were all lovers of the sport, 
and there is no question but what they used Carriers, as 
they were then called, for conveying messages from one 
section to another while their armies were in motion. 
An old song tells of a warrior wounded in battle send- 
ing a message to his love, and he apostrophizes the bird 
in this manner : 

"Fly away to my native land, sweet bird, 

Fly away 1o my native land; 
And bear these lines to my lady-love, 

I have traced, with a feeble hand. 
She marvels much at my lono- delay, 

A rumor of death she has heard, 
Or she thinks, perhaps, I have falsely strayed; 

Fly away to her bower, sweet bird." 

Pliny tells us that wlicn Decimus Junius Brutus was 
besieged in Mu'.ina forty-three years B. C. by Mark 
Anthony, avL the Roman consuls, Heirtius and Pansa, 
came to raise the siege, Brutus communicated with the 
consuls by pigeons that flew over the heads of the be- 
siegers, thus setting at naught the blockade so securely 
established. It is also said that a certain Mohammedan 
ruler of Syria and Egypt, one Nour-ed-deen Mah-.iioud 
who reigned between the years 1145 and 1174 A. D., had 
a systematic pigeon postal service from his residence 





AFRICAN OWL. 

This jaunty and graceful little bird is much admired 
and its delicacy alone probably keeps it from being 
more extensively cultivated. It is a native of Africa 
and the difference of temperature necessarily makes 
it difficult for it to stand a great climatic change. In 
shape it is compact with very round skull and short, 
stout beak. 



L.ofC. 



99 



The PYatlier's Practical Pi<^eon Book. 



t-O various parts of his dominion. Towers were built at 
various points along the routes, and at these points were 
stationed watchmen whose business it was to look after 
the welfare of the pigeons. Numerous instances in 
which pigeons were used as messengers by the ancients, 
are on record thus establishing the fact of the antiquity 
of pigeon flying. 

France and England, before the days of the telegraph 
and the telephone, used pigeons as means of transmit- 
ting important financial news and racing events, from 
one capital to the other, and in our own America, Car- 
riers were often used for this purpose before Morse 
with his great invention annihilated space. Belgium 
has long been noted for its splendid varieties of Homing 
Pigeons, and it is from this quarter that we have re- 
ceived some of the best stock known in America, and 
as Antwerp has long been the principal port from which 
shipments have been made we have come to know all 
this variety of birds as Antwerps. 

All pigeons are very much attached to their homes, 
but all have not the organ of locality developed alike. 
Some birds when taken but a short distance from home 
become dazed and lost, and while they show every evi- 
dence of delight when returned to their home, they do 
not seem to have the faculty to find it of their own ac- 
cord. Others again have this organ largely developed, 
and it is this that enables them to find their way when, 
taken hundreds of miles from home, 

"O'er moor and fen, 
O'er craig and torrent," 

till that home is reached. 

Undoubtedly by careful breeding and training this, 
quality has been improved and encouraged and has given 



100 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book, 

us the splendid races of Homing Pigeons we now liave. 
It was for a long time a disputed question by what 
means a pigeon "voyageur" found his way home when 
liberated at great distances from it, some claiming it 
was by sight alone, others that it was by instinct, and 
that a good bird would find its cote if tossed in any di- 
rection. But experience has taught that it is by sight, 
aided by this faculty of recognizing localities quickly, 
that the pigeon finds its home. Flying, as they do when 
at liberty, at a great altitude, they become acquainted 
with every prominent object about their homes — steep- 
les, domes, lofty buildings, rivers, lakes, and trees. 
When put in training they are taken at first a short dis- 
tance from the loft. As soon as liberated and they have 
themselves well gathered together, as it were, for a 
flight, they begin to fly in circles, constantly widening 
as they ascend, and keep this up until reaching a height 
at which they can discern some familiar object. They 
at once strike for this knowing that their goal is in that 
direction. Frequent practice of this kind familiarizes 
them with all the country between the points from 
which they are started and home. 

I am inclined to believe that rivers and lakes are 
prominent guides for the Homing bird. At the great 
heights to which they rise, especially when in a new lo- 
cality, the lakes and rivers, like silver mirrors and 
threads, are more prominent than other objects, and by 
following their course they are led to more familiar 
scenes. Pigeons flying where the landscape is farniliar 
do not fly as high as where it is comparatively 
strange ; another proof that they are guided chief- 
ly by sight. While sight is the Homing Pigeon's 
main dependence, it is aided by a certain amount of in- 
telligence and a large amount of courage, patience, and 



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The Feather's Practical Pij^eon Book. 



endurance. Without these quaUties they would be no 
success as long-distance Hyers ; and it is only the birds 
possessed of these qualities in a high degree that return 
from the three, four, and five-hundred-mile races. 
Hundreds sent out to cover these distances never return, 
which makes Homing Pigeon flying an expensive 
amusement. But the cock or hen that succeeds in mak- 
ing these long distances, and doing it several times in 
succession, becomes an idol in the loft of its owner. 

While many pigeons will fly quite a distance, such as 
the Owl, the Swallow, the Dragoon, the Archangel, the 
Tumbler, and others, still birds kept for the particular 
amusement of long-distance flying are mainly the vari- 
ety already mentioned — the Antwerp. To establish a 
flock of this variety with a view to flying them, it will 
be necessary to begin with young birds that never have 
flown, as old birds would return to their birthplace if 
once flown from there, or else become lost when let 
loose. Young birds can be raised from old ones pur- 
chased and kept confined, or they can be purchased 
when just able to care for themselves, and as soon as 
able to fly allowed their liberty about their new home. 
They will know no other, and so be contented and al- 
ways have a love for that locality. After having be- 
come well acquainted with their outdoor surroundings 
and grown strong and hearty, they can commence their 
training for long-distance flying. At first they should 
be taken five miles from home and liberated. If they 
are successful in returning they can again be taken this 
distance, then increased to ten, then to twenty, and so 
on by gradual steps and constantly increasing distances 
until they have become fitted for the supreme effort of 
their lives, the 500-mile distance. Few birds accom- 
plish this feat, but those that are capable of it are worthy 



102 






• ENGLISH OWL, 

The English Owl to-day is a very different one from 
that of forty or fifty years ago. It was small and at- 
tractive, but lacking the head-properties that it now has. 
It is a strong, healthy bird, plump, with prominent 
breast and broad chest; the wings are strong and mus- 
cular ; neck, short and thick; legs, short and without 
any feathering below the hock; tail and flights, very 
short; and the head, which should be large, broad, 
heavy, and massive, is carried in a jaunty and kingly 
fashion ; beak is short, curving downward, and carrying 
out an unbroken curve from back of head to tip of 
beak; the beak-wattle is fine and small; eye, set low in 
head, is bold and prominent; the gullet must be largely 
developed, commencing from under the lower mandible 
and running into the rosette. There are Blues, Silvers, 
Powdered Blues and Silvers, Blue and Silver Chequers, 
Whites, Yellows, and Reds. 



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The Feather's Practical Pijieon Book. 



of all the praise they receive. Care needs to be used 
not to "over-train," as it is called, or otherwise not to 
call upon your birds to make long-distance flies too fre- 
quently and so overtax their strength. But while re- 
cuperating from their fifty and lOO-mile flights, for in- 
stance, they need daily exercise, which should be given 
twice each day, morning and afternoon. In this way 
they are more apt to fly high and circle wide than 
though entire freedom through the day were given 
them. 

These flights can be encouraged by starting them off 
and frequently waving a small flag attached to a long, 
light pole, called by some fanciers a "flatterer." They 
soon come to understand what this means, and will cir- 
cle and mount to great heights. By this means they be- 
come thoroughly familiar with the landscape for miles 
around, and the exercise strengthens their muscles and 
gives them the knowledge of localities that aids them 
in their future long-distance flights. After flying an 
hour or so they should be allowed to alight, Vvdien they 
will at once come into the loft for a drink. At this 
time they should be given a little hemp, cgnary, or 
coriander-seed, and have their morning or evening feed. 
This answers as a reward and as a stimulus to return 
home. A hungry bird, like a hungry horse, when 
turned towards home, has not only the love of home 
to encourage, but the knowledge that plenty of good 
food and water is to be found there when that home is 
reached. Birds trained and exercised in this manner 
are always active, alert, and strong. Naturally it makes 
them a little wild, but this is no detriment to a Homer, 
this very feature being an advantage, as it makes them 
cautious of dangers and v.^atchful for enemies while on 
the wing. 



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The Feather's Practical PiGjeon Book. 



Pigeons when sent or taken for their long journeys 
should be carried in roomy, airy baskets, and should not 
be crowded, as this would tend to soil and ruffle their 
plumage and thus unfit them for a successful flight, 
just before starting, say an hour, they should have fresh 
water and a liberal feed ; they will not then have to fly 
with a loaded crop, as their food will be partially di- 
gested, and they will yet be well fortified for a long 
flight. Where Antwerps are used for carrying mes- 
sages long distances, in consequence of the difficulties 
they are subject to, such as murderous gunners, birds 
of prey, storms, variable winds, etc., several should be 
started at a time, each bearing the same message ; this 
will be more likely to insure its delivery, as all will hard- 
ly be likely to fail in making the journey. Various ways 
of attaching a message to the pigeon are used. Some 
fasten it about one leg, securing it in place by small 
rubber bands, others fasten it around one of the quill- 
feathers of the tail, while others again place it between 
two quills of the tail, and wrap them together with 
thread, worsted, or rubber bands. But the most secure 
and modern method is the aluminum message-holder. 
The message should be written on a slip of silk paper, 
as this is light and can be rolled very closely. When 
Avritten fine and closely a great deal can be said on a 
small piece of such paper. Should the message be of 
great importance and private, it can be written in cypher 
and translated by a code previously agreed upon. Com- 
munication of this kind was frequently used during the 
late Franco-Prussian war to good advantage, and Ant- 
werps are still kept by the different governments of 
Europe with an eye to future emergencies in time of 
war, and receive regular and systematic training. Our 
own government has used Homing Pigeons as means 



105 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

of communication between its frontier posts for 
some years, and found them of great advantage, al- 
tliough not alwa}-s reliable, from the attacks they were 
subject to from hawks. Writing of hawks, reminds me 
of a curious plan the Chinese pursue to protect pigeons 
from the numerous small hawks that are common to 
that country. A visitor to that section writes : "While 
enjoying the curious sights that everywhere met my eye. 
mv attention was called to a succession of peculiar shrill 
whistles, that seemed to come from the space over our 
heads. On looking up I could see nothing but a flock 
of pigeons circling about. Being unable to solve the 
mystery, I called the attention of our host to the singu- 
lar sounds, when he laughingly replied : 'Oh, that is 
made by the pigeons, and is caused by a small whistle 
attached to the tail-feathers of certain of the birds, and 
is placed there to scare away the hawks, which it is very 
effectual in doing.' The Avhistle is so arranged that the 
pigeon passing through the air causes it to emit at in- 
tervals the shrill noises I heard." ^luch more could be 
said of benefit and interest to those who select Antwerps 
as pets. But in this connection we must not forget the 
pretty, modest, and attractive little Tumbler family. 
They too are kept as flyers, but not for racing nor mes- 
senger purposes although even they will readily return 
home from ten and fifteen miles distance. I well re- 
member a beautiful flock of Long- faced Red Tumblers 
I once possessed, and it was in connection with them 
I first learned how strong the homing instinct was de- 
veloped in the Tumbler. An English-born friend had 
been a fancier in his boyhood and on seeing my flock 
the old fancy took possession of him again, and nothing 
would satisfy him but a family of the same kind. Ac- 
corditigly a bargain was made and he became the pos- 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Bool?;. 



sessor, much against my desire, of a pair of my little 
beauties. A paper flour-sack was provided, some holes 
cut in it for air, and he marched off the happy owner 
of what he considered the nucleus of as fine a flock as 
I had. His home was about ten miles from mine and 
I bid adieu to my little friends never expecting to see 
them again. But one day when paying my usual even- 
ing visit to my pigeons, I found the pair I had sold him 
occupying their old position in the loft. I could not be- 
lieve it was them, so counted my birds over, and, sure 
enough, I was two ahead of my usual count. A few 
days after he called on me again to see if I would not 
let him have another pair, and with a sorrowful face 
related how he had kept these confined until he thought 
they were thoroughly wonted to their home, and think- 
ing to give them some exercise, turned them out the 
very day I discovered them in their old location. He 
said they soared around for a few moments, mounting 
higher and higher, and finally darted off to the west and 
he had never seen them since. When told they were 
safe and that they were still his, a happier man was 
never seen. Again he took them away, and kept them 
confined until he had reared several pairs of young, 
when, thinking that they must surely have forgotten 
their old home, he once more gave them their liberty, 
and I again was surprised to find them at night in their 
old place. Three times they came back to me during the 
year, and the last time it was agreed between us that 
they should stay, since the old home seemed so dear to 
them. 

But, as I have said, they are not kept for long journeys 
but for high flying ; that is, soaring to great heights from 
the earth, although the above experience proves that 
they possess the homing faculty to some extent. The 



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variety, form, and color of flying Tumblers is almost 
numberless, and embraces varieties know^n by many 
different names, such as Rose Wings, Mottles, Grizzles, 
Bald Heads, Badges, Saddles, Splashes, Tipplers, 
Beards, Birmingham Rollers, Almonds, Kites, High 
Flyers, Oriental Rollers, etc. Some of these are muffed 
or booted, others again are without booting, and are 
known as plain legged. Each variety has its peculiari- 
ties, some tumbling only once in awhile during their 
flights, others like the Birmingham and Oriental Rollers, 
tumbling over and over several times, while still others 
although known as Tumblers never tumble. They are 
a beautiful family of pigeons, however, and no matter 
which variety or varieties are kept, they afford an un- 
limited amount of pleasure. 

The quality of high-flying in Tumblers, as with long- 
distance flying in the Antwerp, has to be taught them, 
and is done by allowing them their liberty but once or 
twice each day, and at that time keeping them on the 
wing with the flag previously spoken of in connection 
with Antwerps. The same course of feeding as with 
Antwerps needs to be observed with "flying Tumblers." 
The question of whether the fancier wants a flock of 
high flyers that simply fly high and never tumbler, or 
whether he wants a flock that tumble well and fly high 
also, is one to be determined by himself. Birds that 
tumble are not as likely to prove as good in high-flying 
and long-staying qualities as those that do not tumble. 
By long-staying qualities, I mean ability to keep on the 
wing for hours, some flocks staying up for the period of 
twelve to fourteen hours, and this at such a height as to 
be at times invisible to the naked eye, but to my mind 
the birds that tumble as they fly are the most enjoyable. 
It takes time to collect a good family of such birds, as it 



108 




"*'^"'' 



ALMOND TUMBLER COCK. 

Though this is a most popular variety of the Short- 
Faced Tumbler, even the breeders have little pleasure in 
raising them on account of the diversity of opinion as 
regards the color. " The same color as the shell of the 
almond," but how many different-colored almonds are 
there? The ground-color should be in tint like the 
inside shell of the almond; the head, neck, chest, back, 
and wing-coverts, spangled with rich black; tail and 
flights, showing three distinct colors — almond, black, and 
white in uneven patches. They are erect and jaunty, 
with head large and round, well thrown back; neck, 
short, arched, broad at base, but very slender at throat ; 
chest, broad, prominent ; wing-coverts, spreading ; back, 
slightly raised ; beak, short, straight, horn-colored ; 
cere and wattles, small and fine ; the flights, carried 
below the tail but no opening between the two ; the 
eye large, round, and very prominent, set well back in 
the head, silvery, bright, with jet-black, well-defined 
pupil. 



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is only by proving- them by flying that one can deter- 
mine their quahty. There is nothing to indicate this 
quahty in their appearance, and for this reason most 
flocks of high flyers are made np of a motley collection 
as far as color in concerned, but time and patience will 
allow of making a collection of similar markings and 
color if one so desires, and this should be the aim of a 
beginner in this class of sports. 

A beautiful flock of Mottles, Bald Heads, Beards, or 
solid colors is something to be proud of, especially if 
added to their coloring you can secure good performing 
qualities. In commencing a flock, procure for your first 
breeders a few pairs of known good performing powers, 
for then you can reasonably expect their young to in- 
herit these qualities. Tf possible these breeders should 
be purchased from a point a long distance from your 
own breeding-place, otherwise, as they possess the hom- 
ing instinct strong, the same as all good flying pigeons, 
they will be likely to leave you as soon as released. 
These old birds you will have to depend upon to train 
the younger birds, and consequently it is necessary that 
they should become thoroughly attached to their new 
home. Kind treatment, regular and careful feeding will 
do much to accomplish this. Daily exercise in the en- 
closed area I have previously recommended for all pig- 
eon-houses or lofts will familiarize them with surround- 
ings, and then when first liberated, which should not b:^ 
until some months have passed after their purchase, 
they should be allowed to go and come at will, never 
startling them nor attempting to prove their flying qual- 
ities. A week or more of such freedom accustoms them 
to the locality, and they are ready for their first lessons. 
It is presumable that during the time they have been 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



confined a g-Qodly family of youngsters has been com- 
ing on, that are themselves in good flying trim. 

The flock can be liberated some clear, fine morning. 
It may be necessary to frighten them at first to make 
them all rise at once, and as soon as they are well 
bunched together commence waving the flag I have 
cautioned you against providing, gently at first, and as 
they ascend more vigorously. The older birds will 
understand its meaning and begin to "climb up," the 
young ones following. After flying awhile, they should 
be allowed to alight and come into the loft, where they 
should find fresh food and water. They should be kept 
confined until three or four in the afternoon, when an- 
other lesson can be given them, and so proceed with 
them every day, until at last as soon as they are liberated 
they will dart up and begin to circle until they reach 
so great a height that the neck aches with watching and 
the eye can detect nothing but an occasional sparkle as 
some one or more individual birds perform a somer- 
sault. Good performing birds tumble as they rise, and 
it is a beautiful sight to see them all going through 
their peculiar gyrations, keeping close together, the sun 
gHstening on their plumage, and they constantly rising 
higher and higher until they appear as mere glimmer- 
ing specks far up in the ether. 

While training attention must be given to those that 
lag, for we want no laggards in such a flock. Such 
birds should be disposed of in some way and not 
kept even as breeders. Care must be observed 
not to liberate them on a stormy or foggy day. 
or they may lose their bearings and be hopelessly lost. 
Breeding birds should not be allowed to fly too long, 
or their eggs will get cold ; consequently it is not best 
to fly them so often during the breeding season. Young 

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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



birds when commencing to fly sometimes fail in their 
attempts at making a complete somersault ; such birds 
can be assisted sometimes by the removal of one or two 
of the central tail-feathers, or by cutting off a portion 
of the tail. If even after such treatment it is found that 
they can not get over, they should be discarded if the 
object is to establish a flock composed entirely of good 
performers. It is necessary that they have exercise at 
least once each day when weather permits, otherwise 
they become fat and disinclined to both soar high and 
tumble. Where kept in constant practice they show well 
at any time when let out, and as to display their abilities 
to visiting fanciers is one of the pleasures of their keep- 
er, by keeping them always in good trim they are in con- 
dition to satisf} their owner's pride at all times. Among 
all the prettv varieties for this purpose none surpasses an 
assorted lot of Bald Heads. They are not only pretty 
to look at in the loft, but are handsome and attractive 
while on the wing. It is no easy matter to collect such 
a flock, but time will accomplish it, and when gathered 
together with the qualities already described they are a 
"joy forever." 

Many are satisfied with a promiscuous lot, caring 
nothing about color so they fly well and tumble ; such 
a flock it is less difhcult to establish, and while not as at- 
tractive as a selected lot of Balds, still affords an im- 
mense amount of satisfaction and amusemnt. Our Eng- 
lish brethren have flocks of high fl} ers that they place in 
competition with one another, the same as do Antwerp 
flyers, the birds flying the longest winning the prizes. 
Little, if anything, has been done in this way in Amer- 
ica, and herein lies a source of amusement for our fan- 
ciers that will give fully as much satisfaction and be less 
expensive than Homing Pigeon races. The English pa- 



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The Feather's Practical Pio;eon Book. 



pers mention in their reports of such races flocks that, 
though liberated at 6:30 a. m., did not return until 7:30 
and 8 p. m. of same day. This shows a marvellous 
amount of endurance, equal to that of the Homer, and 
when we think that most of this time they are so high up 
that the eye can hardly distinguish them, and frequently 
are entirely beyond the range of vision, it seems won- 
derful, indeed, and awakens at once a greater degree of 
interest in these little pets. We praise man for his valor- 
ous deeds, the horse for his wonderful bursts of speed, 
and the dog for his great intelligence, then why should 
we not render our meed of praise to the little aerial voy- 
ageur whose surprising performance on the wing makes 
us open our eyes in astonishment that one so small 
should accomplish so much? 

Contra-distinct from the high-flying Tumbler we 
have another little pigeon pet, that is kept for amuse- 
ment and as a curiosity. I refer to the "inside" house 
or ground Tumbler. This Httle pigeon, while the coun- 
terpart in size, form, and coloring of the common Out- 
side Tumbler, differs from it in the fact that it is so 
constituted as to be unable, as a rule, to rise to any 
great height on account of its tumbling proclivities. 
For this reason it is usually kept confined and never 
allowed entire freedom for fear it should become the 
prey of cats, dogs, and other lovers of pigeon flesh. 

The origin of this variety of Tumbler is rather uncer- 
tain. Brent, an English writer, speaks of them as a 
Scotch variety. Tegetmeier, a noted English writer and 
judge, mentions a pigeon peculiar to India that rolls or 
tumbles when shaken from side to side and then placed 
on the ground. As I have never seen such specimens 
in America nor heard of their being bred in England, 
we can hardly expect to trace our little Inside Tumblers 



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The Feather's Fractiea] Pigeon Book. 



to that source. I have long been of the opinion that 
they originated in or about I'hiladelphia, and in corres- 
pondence with an old-time fancier of this novel variety, 
Mr. T. S. Armstrong, he writes me as follows : '* My 
experience and recollection of Inside Tumblers com- 
mences about thirty-five years ago. At that time it was 
very seldom that we could get a bird that would ever 
perform in a large room. I don't think that I ever saw a 
bird turn over within six inches of the floor until at 
least ten years later." 

I have maintained that Inside Tumblers, or at least 
Avhat we call inside birds, are strictly a Philadelphia 
breed, and to the manor born. Wright and other Eng- 
lish writers refer to them rarely, and when they do it 
seems to me that their ideas and our own differ very 
much. Years back very little attention was paid to any 
point except tumbling. \\"e would select the best Out- 
side Tumblers we could get without regard to shape, 
color, etc., only so they performed well, "came down in 
a roll" as the boys used to say ; price was no object. 
Then we would fly the young ones from .^ix months to 
a year ; those that staged down and were not gobbled up 
by cats, we would select as the future breeders. So we 
kept on, and as I write, old names come up that I had 
well nigh forgotten. English Dave, Harry Herdegen. 
Mike Grogg, Tommy Walls, Rill Runye, and about as 
many more that I can not bring to mind, many of them 
having passed over the border. Yet to these men be- 
long the credit in my estimation of the origin of the 
real simon pure and only Inside Tumblers. 

After a few years of patient experimenting more at- 
tention was paid to breeding to color, and after ten or 
fifteen years, birds began to come that we could not let 
out nor fly, and at the present time we do not think of 



114 




MUFFED ROSEWING TUMBLER. 



This is a fairly easy bird to breed, being hardy and 
easy to manage. It is a bold and jaunty bird, though 
small, plump, and short in body; broad-chested; head, 
round; neck, shapely, though short; muscular should- 
ers; light horn-colored beak, thin and straight; eyes, 
white or pearl, with small, smooth wattles ; short legs 
and small feet; m.uff, plentiful and the outer edge in 
the form of a half circle coming in to hock, if possi- 
ble, without break. The color should be even with 
white circular marks on wings and back. 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



such a thing-. A bird that can get up three feet is not 
an inside bird, he is only a "corny." To Mr. Wilham 
Fable (now dead some eighteen months) belongs some 
of the credit of style, head, and beak-qualities, rich and 
uniform coloring combined with the main characteris- 
tics, and some I take to myself. You remember yourself 
the famous, pure-white, pearl-eyed birds I used to have, 
and sold as high as $ioo per pair. 

Such, undoubtedly, is the history of the origin of this 
interesting and amusing little pigeon, and confirms mv 
convictions that Philadelphia was where they origi- 
nated. Here they have always had admirers and been 
carefully bred, and to-day probably there are more In- 
side Tumblers to be found than any other single place 
in America. 

The fancier who may be unable to keep pigeons be- 
cause he can not allow them to fly, can find an immense 
amount of pleasure, comfort, and profit in breeding 
these little pets. An unused, well-lighted room in the 
house, or a neat little house in the yard, could be ar- 
ranged to accommodate six to ten pairs. Here they can 
be treated the same as other pigeons, as far as feeding, 
watering, and other care is concerned, and they wi'l 
pair and breed, producing, if well-managed, from four 
to six pairs each in a season. Their colors are not as 
various as that of flying Tumblers, and are chiefly con- 
fined to IMottles, Grizzles, and solid colors. The habit 
of tumbling varies in different specimens, some rising 
to the height of three or four feet before making a 
somersault, others can not rise from the floor on ac- 
count of their tumbling. These last are more of cur- 
iosities, but do not give as much satisfaction according 
to my idea, as those that rise three or four feet and then 
make two complete somersaults before striking the floor. 



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The Feather's Practical Piaeon Book. 



It is done very neatly, and they always land on their 
feet. In fact, the little fellows that can not rise from the 
floor always, after a turn, land on their feet. 

The question whether it is a pleasure to them is one 
hard to answer. But the fact that they try to avoid 
raising, and only tumble when startled, inclines me to 
believe that it is a nervous affection, and not a volun- 
tary action, and that when startled they lose control of 
themselves and in trying to rise go over backwards. 
The fancier wishing to display their qualities to a visitor 
usually takes a small stick and strikes the floor behind 
them, sometimes they respond at once with a somer- 
sault, at others they will run away, and it requires sev- 
eral attempts with the stick to get them to tumble. 
Often by scuffing the foot behind them, they will turn 
over, but all movements to get them to tumble have 
to be sudden. 

Young birds of excellent parentage do not always 
inherit the qualities of their parents, and can never be 
made to tumble in the room, but as soon as turned out 
of doors become good Outside Tumblers, although liable 
to lose their control, and tumble to the ground. I call 
to mind a fine black specimen of this kind that had been 
flying at large for some time. One day he alighted o,t 
the eaves of the barn and when he attempted to rise, 
would turn a complete somersault, and land on both feet 
in the place where he started. It was amusing to see his 
look of seeming surprise every time he made a rise and 
came back in the old place. He finally made an extra 
efifort, cleared the barn, and landed in the yard, where 
he was picked up and transferred to the Inside Tumbler 
room, with the idea that he would be a good bird to 
breed from, and as it proved he ever after made a good 
inside performer. 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



A breeder of this variety wishing to amuse himself 
or friends, can take his birds out on the grass plat, 
spread a sheet or blanket over the grass, and enjoy their 
performances to his heart's content. While more atten- 
tion is paid in breeding them, to mate them with a view 
to perpetuate the tumbling quality, good breeders, when 
possible, like to mate also, so as to preserve a uniformity 
in color, and I have seen very pretty collections of Mot- 
tles, also Reds and Yellows, and note particularly the 
beautiful, pure-white specimens mentioned by Mr. Arm- 
strong. He gave up the breeding of this particular 
variety some years ago and his stock, like that of many 
another successful retiring fancier, was scattered and 
their identity completely lost. 

The history of this little pigeon is an evidence of what 
persistent effort and time will accomplish, and should 
be an incentive to fanciers of any particular variety, to 
set their standard high, knowing that patience and good 
judgment will enable them in time to accomplish all they 
desire, and that their attempts at perfection will add a 
keener zest to the pleasures of pigeon keeping. 



i! 



118 



CHAPTER VII. 

Diseases of Pigeons. 

While pigeons living under natural conditions and 
with unrestrained liberty are rarely, if at all, subject to 
disease, pigeons kept under control and even partial 
confinement are subject to a variety of diseases, brought 
about, no doubt, by this artificial manner of living. Lack 
of proper exercise, breathing tainted air, improper food, 
and unclean water have much to do with causing a dis- 
eased condition. Consequently it stands a fancier well 
in hand to provide especially clean, roomy apartments, 
to give all the open-air exercise possible (if not feasible 
to allow perfect liberty, then provide roomy areas for 
the pigeons to fly about in), feed sound, clean grain, and 
furnish a supply of fresh, clean zvatcr at all times. 

Many of the infectious diseases, such as roup, canker, 
etc., are, no doubt, communicated through the medium 
of food and water. For instance, a bird with roup will 
pick among the grain in the feeding-dishes for some 
favorite grain ; in doing so he throws the other grain 
aside Vv^ith his bill, and the grain naturally becomes 
polluted with the secretions from his nostrils. This 
grain being afterwards picked up by other birds the 
disease is thus spread. So in drinking, the diseased 
pigeon thrusts its beak up to its nostrils into the drink- 
ing-water, and thus the water becomes contaminated. 
It is, therefore, absolutely necessary to remove, as soon 
as possible, from the main flock any specimens showing 
symptoms of disease. Daily observation will acquaint 
you so well with your birds that you will notice at a 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



glance almost if any individual specimen is ailing. 
Prompt attention to it will save loss and a great amount 
of trouble. Tt should be removed at once to a separate 
apartment and given the best of care. 

Prompt attention and the application of the different 
remedies I shall suggest will usually prove efficacious 
and save your birds and prevent an epidemic. The old 
adages, "A stitch in time saves nine," and "An ounce 
of prevention is worth a pound of cure," are maxims 
that can not be too closely observed. In purchasing 
new stock be careful that they come from healthy lofts. 
If you have any suspicions place them in quarantine, 
as I have advised with birds returning from an ex- 
hibition, for the presence of one or two birds suffering 
from roup, canker, or even a louse-infected loft may 
cause you an endless amount of trouble and the loss of 
some of your best birds. 

For the sake of a better understanding of the diseases 
of pigeons, I purpose classifying them under different 
heads or divisions : 



FIRST DIVISION. 



Diseases of the Head, Brain, and Nervous System. 

apoplexy. 
While not a common disease among pigeons, cases 
sometimes occur, especially among birds kept closely 
confined, highly fed, and having little exercise. The 
birds may be suddenly startled, one will rise with the 
rest, fall back to the floor, move around in a dazed con- 
dition, and when taken in the hand suddenly gasp and 



120 




MUFFLED SILVER. LONG-FACED TUMBLER- 
COCK. 

This bird is alike in points to the other Tumblers, 
and is a soft, creamy white, with dark bars ; the dark- 
er the better to form the contrast. They have many 
admirers in this country and they make an elegant 
variety to breed from a fancier's standpoint. 



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The Feather's Practical Pio^eon Book. 



fall over dead. This I should call apoplexy. An ex- 
amination will prove that it is fat and showing no in- 
dication of disease. The trouble is caused, no doubt, 
by a rupture of some blood-vessel in the brain produced 
by the sudden fright. Should it fall and yet live, give 
six pellets of belladonna every two hours. 

VERTIGO. 

This is a disease peculiar also to highly-fed and pam- 
pered birds. The symptoms are a staggering gait when 
attempting to walk and frequently falling forward on 
its breast. Its eyes are dull and its head is held rigid 
and stiff. Hold its head under a gentle stream of cold 
water, remove it to a quiet, secluded cage, and give a 
gentle purgative — one of Carter's Little Liver Pills or 
half a grain of Epsom salts. Treated homeopathically, 
I should give it six pellets of belladonna dissolved in a 
cup of water. If it is unable to drink, turn a teaspoon- 
ful down its throat every hour or two. 

PARALYSIS. 

This is also a disease of rare occurrence, and chiefly 
affects laying hens, especially young ones. It usually 
affects them after laying the second egg. You will 
find the sufferer lying on her breast, with her legs 
stretched out behind, entirely helpless. Fortunately, as 
a rule the trouble is only of short duration. Taken up 
and laid in a quiet, retired place, they recover in the 
course of a day. Gently rubbing the small of the back 
and thighs sometimes hastens recovery. Should the 
paralysis not yield after a few days to treatm.ent of this 
kind, there is not much hope for it, and it might as well 
be put out of its misery. As a remedy, give six pellets 
of gelsemium dissolved in a teacup of water. 



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The Feather's Practical Pig-eon Book. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE EYES. 

The lids of the eyes frequently become inflamed 
through colds or in connection with roup. There is a 
sticky secretion, and the bird to relieve itself frequently 
rubs its head on its wing-bows, and this soon becomes 
fouled and dirty. A white spot sometimes shows itself 
in the center of the eyeball, the eye becomes dulled, and 
the sight is eventually destroyed. This is usually an 
accompaniment of roup, and I have never found it cur- 
able. The sight is, no doubt, destroyed before the white 
speck appears outwardly. Where there is simply a 
slight inflammation of the eyelids caused by cold, bath- 
ing the eyes wnth warm milk and water or a solution of 
sugar of lead, which your druggist will prepare for 
you, usually effects a cure. What is most necessary 
is that it should be taken in time. A gentle laxative, 
such as a small pinch of Epsom salts, is beneficial given 
once or twice. The homeopathic remedy, gelsemium, 
six pellets in a cup of water, is also recommended. 

SPOUTS. 

This is a trouble peculiar to Carriers and Barbs. 
It is caused by the rapid growth of the eye-cere or wat- 
tle, which instead of spreading out evenly forms a fold 
like the spout of a pitcher, and hence its name, spout. 
It is usually formed on the lower lid, and is attended 
with more or less inflammation in the locality. On the 
inside will be found small, angry looking little nodules or 
pimples ; this induces a secretion that, if neglected, 
forms around the lid a yellowish crust of matter. The 
inflammation causes the bird to rub its eye for relief on 
its shoulder, and this, too, soon becomes covered with the 
sticky fluid, which is no improvement to the bird's ap- 
pearance. By some they are supposed to be caused by a 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



peck from some of its companions, but experience 
proves that it is from tlie rapid growth of the wattle. 
The only cure for them is removing them by a pair of 
curved surgical scissors. In cutting be sure to remove 
at same time the pimples spoken of, as to leave one of 
them is to leave one of the main causes of irritation. 
This can be done by drawing the spout well out with the 
left-hand fingers and giving a quick cut. Some material 
will have to be provided to stop the flow of blood. 
Touching the wound with lunar caustic is often done, 
which sears up the severed blood-vessels. A small piece 
of cobweb is good, and if the bleeding is not very copi- 
ous a little flour will answer. It needs two to perform 
the operation well, one to hold the bird and one to do 
the cutting. After it is cut, and the wound seared over, 
rubbing it with a little vaseline occasionally until healed 
is beneficial. The feet need to be hoppled for a day or 
two to prevent its scratching the eye with the foot, 
and a collar of pasteboard should be placed on the neck, 
to prevent rubbing the eyes on the shoulder. This can be 
made by taking a circular piece of pasteboard about 
four inches in diameter, and cutting a hole in it large 
enough to slip over the head. By attending to spouts 
when the}- first begin to form they can be easily removed 
and the eye-wattles kept smooth and regular. Frequent 
bathing with a soft sponge and warm water will do 
much towards keeping the wattles clean and in good 
condition. Use the homeopathic remedy, apis, six pel- 
lets in drinking-cup ; this will allay inflammation. 

MEGRIMS. 

This is a nervous disorder in which the bird staggers 
from side to side when attempting to walk, twisting 
its neck in all directions, sometimes backwards, again 



124 



^ 




YELLOW TURBIT HEN. 

The Yellow Turbit is another of the attractive varie- 
ties of a large family of pigeons. This class of birds 
is exceedingly popular and claims a large number of 
patrons. They are to be seen in great numbers and 
have many ardent admirers at the shows. 



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The Feather's Practical Pioeon Book. 



forward between its legs, and then from side to side, 
apparently having no control of it. These actions are 
indicative of great distress, and quickly awaken one's 
sympathies in the bird's behalf. That it is largely a 
nervous aflfection is evident from the fact that it is worse 
when startled. It may be standing apparently in a nat- 
ural condition and on being disturbed suddenly, it will 
begin to throw its head back, and then twisting it as 
described and finally rolling over on its side helpless. 
It is deemed by some an incurable disease, but I have 
found that gently showering the back of the head, keep- 
ing it in a quiet place, and giving one-half teaspooniul 
of Rochelle salts wet, every third day, often effects a 
cure. Unless, however, a valuable bird, I should advise 
putting it out of its misery as soon as attacked. It is 
caused, no doubt, by high living and insufficient ex- 
ercise. 

TUMORS. 

These frequently form on various parts of the head in 
the shape of round, hard bunches, which, on examina- 
tion, are found movable under the skin. They can be 
easily removed by making an incision with a sharp knife 
and squeezing the interior lump out. This will be found 
to consist of a yellowish, cheesy matter, and is, no 
doubt, of scrofulous origin. As soon as removed, have 
ready a little burnt alum to sprinkle in the wound ; this 
congeals the blood and the wound soon heals. 

ROUP. 

This has alwa3^s been one of the greatest scourges of 
the pigeon-loft, because it so frequently attacks the 
young birds about the time they are able to care for 
themselves and are going through their first molt. It 
attacks, however, both old and young, and is caused by 



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The Feather's Practical Piaeon Book. 



sudden changes in temperature or exposure to draughts, 
and is highly contagious. Its symptoms are sneezing, 
a watery discharge from eyes and nostrils, and con- 
siderable fever. If not attended to at once, in the course 
of a day or so the discharge from the nostrils thickens, 
and if the bird is examined the slit in the roof of the 
mouth will be found filled with a thick jelly-like mucus, 
sometimes streaked with blood and minute spots of 
canker. The throat is very much congested, and the 
discharge from the eyes has become thick and sticky. 
If still neglected the discharge from the nostrils becomes 
fsetid and filled with cheese-like matter, one or the other 
of the eyes becomes involved (rarely both) and the eye- 
ball is entirely eaten away and its place filled with this 
cheesy substance. When it reaches this stage the suf- 
ferer might as well be killed, for while I have known 
them to recover they are never afterwards desirable as 
breeding birds. In your daily visits to your birds 
should you notice any of them showing symptoms of 
cold, separate them at once, put them in a dry, warm 
place, and dissolve in water six pillules of the homeo- 
pathic remedy, spongia. Put this in their drinking-cup, 
and you will soon realize its good effects. Should the 
whole loft be affected at once, as is sometimes the case 
during a cold storm in the fall of the year, dissolve from 
one to six dozen of the pillules in water according to the 
number of birds, and place this in the general drink- 
ing-water vessel. This will be found to be a sovereign 
remedy surpassing anything else that can be recom- 
mended. It may be necessary in some cases to wash 
both eyes and nostrils in warm tea or water to remove 
the thickened matter collected there. Renew the drink- 
ing-water every other day. Some cases may prove more 
obstinate than others, but careful attention and the con- 



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The Feather's Practical Pi<2:eon Book. 



tinued use of spongia will bring- them through. Swab- 
bing the throat with a solution of borax is also excellent. 

CROSSED BILLS. 

While this is not a disease, still it is an affection of 
common occurrence among all varieties of pigeons, and 
is caused by the manner of feeding that some old birds 
have, and on the principle "as the twig is bent the tree 
is inclined," the young bird's bill gets a twist that it 
never recovers from, and as it grows and the bill hard- 
ens it becomes a permanent defect. Should it be dis- 
covered early either change the feeder, or bring the bird 
up by hand, at the same time manipulating the bill so as 
to gradually restore it to its natural shape. After the 
defect has become permanent, the only course to pur- 
sue is to trim it occasionally to as near a natural shape 
as possible, being careful in trimming not to cut into 
the quick or fleshy portion of the bill. As this is not an 
hereditary defect such birds, if of good stock and other- 
wise of good quality, can be used as breeders. 

PIP. 
This is a trouble with which pigeons are rarely afflict- 
ed, but it is sometimes found among them. The bird, 
it will be noticed, does not eat well, gives indications of 
an uncomfortable condition of the tongue by opening 
the mouth and moving the tongue uneasily. On ex- 
amination the tongue will be found dry and hard on its 
surface, and the end elongated and split into three or 
four bone-like parts. The remedy is to clip this splin- 
tered portion of the tongue off with a pair of sharp 
scissors, not so high up as to make it bleed, but far 
enough to remove the offending portion. One opera- 
tion of this kind is usually enough, but it is well to 
watch the patient, and if a recurrence of the trouble 



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BLACK-WING TURBIT. 

The number of breeders of Tnrbits is constantly on 
the increase, and certain!}' so beautiful a little bird de- 
serves numerous admirers. It should be as small as 
possible to be strong-, round, and cobby, with broad 
chest; short legs and neck; tail and flights, carried 
well off the ground ; round head ; large, dark, hazel 
eyes ; short and thick beak ; prominent gullet, and long 
frill, opening from the center to right and left ; color, 
white, excepting the shoulders, which are black. 



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occurs clip it again. Spongia, as advised for roup, is a 
remedy for this ailment also. 

SMALLPOX. 

This disease, while rarely affecting pigeons in this 
country, is sometimes found among A'oung pigeons, and 
consists of an eruption of small pimples or pustules 
about the head and upper portion of the neck. It is con- 
tagious, and when you find a young bird affected quar- 
antine him at once. Unless giving promise of a fine speci- 
men, I would advise sacrificing it at once. If worth 
saving, remove immediately to a warm, dry room, touch 
the spots or pimples with a solution of blue vitriol, and 
give as a medicine arsenicum, six pellets in a cup of 
water, renewing every day. Give this remedy two or 
three clays, and if no improvement is noticed try rhus 
tox in same proportions. 



SECOND DIVISION. 
Diseases of the Lungs and Throat. 

ASTHMA. 

This disease, as in fowls and the human family, is 
indicated by difficult breathing, the mouth is opened, 
and the bird frequently gasps for breath ; sometimes 
there is a slight wheezing sound accompanying every 
inhalation of air. As it is natural for pigeons to breathe 
entirely through the nostrils this is an indication that the 
nostrils are obstructed either through inflammation or 
some foreign substance. Bathe the nostrils and roof of 
the mouth with warm milk and water, and when dry, 
rub both well with camphorated oil. Give also spongia 
in its water as for roup. 

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CONSUMPTION OR GOING LIGHT, 

This is a disease that seems to arise from various 
causes, and is difficult of diagnosis for the reason that 
while the symptoms vary, the results are the same. 
Sometimes it is caused by tubercles on the lungs, some- 
times from a diseased condition of the liver, sometimes 
from inflammationof the bowels and, again, from worms. 
It often affects young birds three or four months old, 
particularly the more delicate kinds ; sometimes birds 
whose eggs have not hatched, or whose young have died 
before the soft feed was fed off, and often old birds 
about molting time. With some there is a slight cough 
and ravenous appetite and yet they do not continue to 
grow and thrive. In such a case as this I should suspect 
tubercles on the lungs or lung consumption. Should 
there be copious watery discharges mixed with blood 
and of such a nature as to cling to the feathers about the 
vent, clogging and befouling them, I should suspect in- 
flammation of the bowels or some trouble with the liver. 
Should none of these symptoms appear and yet the pig- 
eon be uneasy and continue to grow thin, I should sus- 
pect worms. Should it occur about molting time, I 
should suspect a debilitated condition of the system 
either from overbreeding or other causes. In the case 
of consumption of the lungs I v;ould suggest capsules 
of cod liver oil, one every day, or Parrish's Chemical 
Food. This is a remedy used at one time largely by 
Philadelphia fanciers, or the homeopathic remedy cal- 
carea carbonica. six pellets dissolved in water. For 
liver disease. Carter's liver pills, one every two or three 
days, or the hom. remedy, podophyllum. For diarrhoea 
or dysentery from inflammation of the bowels a few 
drops of paregoric in a small quantity of water or hom. 
■ remedy arsenicum in proportions as previously de- 

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The Feather's Practical Pi^-eon Book. 



scribed for these rtnnedies. If a pigeon is sick from 
molting, a castor ail capsule will sometimes benefit it. 
Parrish's Chemical Food is always good, and Long's 
Atrophy Lozenges are highly recommended, also the 
hom. remedy calcarea carbonica. At such times if the 
oil-gland of the ailing birds is examined, it will be found 
swollen and the oil congealed ; if squeezed gently the 
oil will ooze out in long worm-like strings of a yellow- 
ish color, streaked with black. This gland should be 
sponged with warm water and gentle means used to 
get it to resume its natural functions. Removing the 
entire tail will frequently effect a cure, and in all cases 
of going light this is one of the first things I would do. 
While this disease is not contagious I would remove the 
bird to a warm, quiet place. If worms are suspected, 
small pieces of garlic about the size of a Canada pea 
given twice a day will prove a cure, or the hom. remedy, 
santonme in six-pellet doses. 

CANKER. 

This disease is undoubtedly of scrofulous origin, and 
may be said to be hereditary, and consequently born 
with the pigeon. Like consumption it descends from 
parents to the young. For this reason old birds showing 
a tendency to cankerous eruptions should not be used as 
breeders. It is a loathsome, filthy disease, and I believe 
in a measure contagious ; therefore when it makes it^ 
appearance in a loft, stringent measures should be taken 
to stamp it out even to sacrificing if necessary the sub- 
jects of its attack. It most frequently attacks the mouth 
and throat, someiimes making its appearance first in 
small deposits of a yellowish, cheesy matter, on the sides 
of the bill, under the tongue, and in the back of the 
throat around the opening of the windpipe. In Czr- 

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SATINETTE. 

The Satinette was the first imported of the " Eastern 
Frills," and is preferably a small, good, round-headed 
bird, showing in profile an unbroken line from base 
of skull to tip of short, stout, slightly-curving beak. 
The wattle fine in texture and small ; gullet, full ; frill, 
abundant, long feathered, and opening out well from 
left to right ; the peak fine, sharp, and carried well up. 
It is white-bodied, with shoulders of pinkish-brown, 
laced with a combination of purple and brown ; the 
tail is dark, with clear white spot at the end of each 
feather, showing when spread, a band of white across 
the tail. 



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riers and Barbs it often affects the ear-passages, also the 
eye- and beak-wattles. If taken at once it can be easily 
checked, but if neglected even for a short time the whole 
interior of the mouth becomes involved, when it becomes 
a difficult, if not an impossible, task to cure it. Young 
birds in the nest are frequent sufferers from it, and here 
is where I would commence to eradicate it from the 
loft by annihilating them at once. The cause of it is 
attributed by some to filthy surroundings and unclean 
water, but as I have known it to be of as frequent occur- 
rence in lofts where everything was as clean as care 
could make it, as where a filthy and neglected condition 
prevailed, I am inclined to believe it arises more from 
confinement, the use of nitrogenous foods, such as peas 
and Indian corn, and a lack of green vegetable food. 
Pigeons at liberty are not as svibject to its attacks as 
those confined and highly fed, for the reason that they 
have plenty of open-air exercise and can pick up what 
green food is necessary, thus keeping the blood cool and 
pure. Remedies recommended are numerous, but I have 
never found anything better for outward application 
than lemon- juice and sugar. Squeeze the juice of a 
lemon into a teacup or wide-mouthed bottle ; add to 
this as much sugar as it will dissolve, so as to make a 
thick syrup. Remove the canker carefully with a small 
flattened piece of wood, being careful not to cause pro- 
fuse bleeding. Then with a camel's hair pencil paint 
the sores with the lemon syrup frequently till the canker 
is killed. A wash of borax and water is excellent for 
swabbing the tliroat and mouth ; a piece of sponge on a 
stick will answer for a swab. As an internal remedy, 
give hom. remedy, atsenicum. 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 

This arises from a severe cold that settles on the 
lungs. Its symptoms are restlessness, labored breath- 
ing, and high fever. Rub the body under the wings 
with camphorated oil ; also give internally spongia or 
aconitum. 



THIRD DIVISION. 



Diseases of the Digestive Organs. 



CROP bound. 
This trouble, for it can hardly be called a disease, is 
caused by an obstruction of the passage between the 
crop and the gizzard. It may be an excessively large 
kernel of grain, or a large piece of gravel, or a grain 
of corn may have become crossed and lodged. The 
gizzard in its working is constantly calling for some- 
thing to grind, creating what we know as an appetite, 
and the sufferer is constantly picking up grain to satisfy 
this demand, until in time the crop becomes so full that 
it can contain no more. This, likewise, from moisture 
begins to swell, and eventually, unless relieved, seems 
ready to burst. In the meantime the poor bird, although 
with a crop loaded to overflowing, grows thinner and 
weaker and unless relieved, literally starves to death. 
This trouble is chiefly confined to Pouters, it being a 
rare thing to ever find other varieties afflicted in this 
way. When first discovered, and before the bird be- 
comes "gorged," as it is termed, it can frequently be 
relieved by washing out the crop. To do this, insert a 
small funnel into the throat, letting it extend below the 
mouth of the windpipe, then turn into this a cupful of 

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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



blood- warm water. Remove the funnel and work the 
crop with the hand, thus separating all the different 
kernels within the crop. Then invert the bird, letting its 
head hang down, and with the fingers gently work the 
grain out through the gullet ; the water coming with it 
makes this an easy matter, and in time the crop can be 
entirely emptied. Care must be taken while doing this 
that the bird does not strangle, and so it will be neces- 
sarv frequently to let the bird resume its normal position 
and regain for a time its breath. By working in this 
manner the crop can be entirely cleaned, also the obstacle 
removed from the passage to the gizzard, and the pig- 
eon in a few days be as well as ever. Sometimes a dose 
of castor oil is given and the efifect of this is to clear the 
crop and obviate the necessity of washing it out. Old 
fanciers, in treating this difficulty, used to place the bird 
in a stocking, and hang it on a nail where it would be 
quiet and could get nothing to eat, at the same time 
working the crop with the fingers. This would often 
effect a cure. But there are cases so far advanced as 
to require the application of the knife as a last resort. 
For this purpose take a sharp penknife, remove the 
feathers at the upper part of the crop, cut through the 
true skin and gcntl>- work that back until the crop is ex- 
posed : then make an incision in the crop itself large 
enough to let several grains of corn out at once. Then 
introduce the funnel, turn in warm water, working the 
crop as before mentioned, remove the funnel after the 
mass has become soft, and gently w^ork it out through 
the opening. It will usually be found very offensive and 
the grains swollen to twice their natural size, but in time 
the whole mass can be removed and probably at the same 
time the offending kernel. Wash the crop out thor- 
oughly, then with a needle and silk thread, taking an 



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The Feather's Practical Fioeon Book. 



over-and-under stitch, draw the edges of the crop to- 
gether. After this is done, draw up the outer skin and 
either sew this also, or secure it firmly with strips of 
court-plaster. Keep the bird b}- itself, giving it a little 
soaked bread, as well as its drinking-water, and in a few 
days the wound in the crop will be healed and the bird 
entirely recovered. By making the incision at the upper 
portion of the crop there is no danger of inflammation 
setting in, as would be the case if the cut were made at 
the lower portion where the food and water would be 
likely to rest. Rubbing the wound ever}' day with a 
little vaseline aids it in healing. 

FOUL CROP. 

This is caused by indigeston and the food in the 
crops becomes watery, sour and very offensive. I would 
advise washing out the crop by way of the mouth and 
warm water. .Vfter thoroughly cleansing the crop, give 
a dose of a castor oil capsule and when this has done 
its work dissolve six pellets of nux von:ica in a cup of 
water, letting the bird drink at will. Feed lightly for 
a few days with soft food. When fully recovered grain 
can be fed as usual. 

DIARRHOEA. 

This disease in pigeons is usually termed scouring, 
and is caused by chill, by foul water, and b}' eating un- 
ripe or musty grain. Sometimes new grain will so 
affect pigeons as to cause the floor of their loft or house 
to be as wet as though sprinkled with water. When the 
grain is supposed to be the cause of the trouble, the 
sooner it is changed the better. I'suahy where this is 
the cause the whole flock will be affected alike. In case 
of chill or foul water it will probably show itself in an 
individual member. If disease is traced to bad grain, 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



change to old, sweet grain and give, for a short time, 
arsenicum in their water. If from foul water give fresh, 
clean water and a few doses of mercurius corrosivius. 
If from cold give ipecachuana homeopathically. 

CHOLERA. 

This is a disease not common among pigeons, al- 
though in some forms of diarrhoea they drop off so sud- 
denly as to suggest the belief that cholera was the cause. 
If the bird shows loose, greenish discharges, appears 
very weak and tottering, I should suspect cholera, and 
administer at once arsenicum as recommended for 
diarrhoea. 

WORMS. 

This trouble is sometimes hard to distinguish from 
diarrhoea, as the bird has a watery discharge and grows 
thin, and the plumage has a staring, lustreless appear- 
ance. It is pale faced and white about the eyes. Its 
appetite seems variable and it is restless. For this give 
small pieces of garlic about the size of a pea, a small 
piece of gum aloes, or the hom. remedy, santonine. 

LIVER COMPLAINT. 

This is a disease difficult to detect although of quite 
frequent occurrence. The bird grows thin, its plumage 
is dull and staring and its discharges are loose and 
sticky, adhering to the feathers of the vent and streaked 
with reddish brown. The oil-gland will also be found 
closed as previously described. When well advanced 
the gait becomes feeble and tottering, and if neglected 
the bird finally dies. A post mortem examination will 
show the liver to be very pale in color, and very soft, in 
fact rotten, small ulcers will also be found growing on 
it. The cause is uncertain, but probably arises from 
a scrofulous condition of the sufferer, the scrofula seat- 



138 





BLUETTE. 

The Bluette is of the " Oriental Frills," and its main 
characteristics are the same. It is of a clear blue color 
with white bars edged with black; dark blue tail with 
white spots, which are also edged with black. 



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The Feather's Pra(ti<al Pigeon Book, 



ing itscli in the Hver, instead of the joints and hnigs. 
If Hver disease is suspected, treat with horn, remedy, 
podophA-Hiim, six pillules in water. 

PROLAPSUS OR FALLEN GIZZARD. 

This is a trouble frequently found in pigeons, and 
while called fallen gizzard is really a relaxation of the 
muscles supporting the intestines, which allows them 
to settle into the abdominal cavity ; here they usually be- 
come surroiuided with a yellowish, cheesv matter, 
which hardens as tbe time passes and becomes so firm 
and prominent that it has given rise to the idea that the 
gizzard has come down into tbe cavity, or "fallen" as 
fanciers say. The cause is from natural weakness 
caused probabl}- b}- over-breeding. There is no remedy, 
and as such a bird never recovers and is useless as a 
breeder it migbt as well be killed when it is finally de- 
termined that it has thjs trouble. 

CONSTIPATION. 

This sometimes affects pigeons, especially those con- 
fined and fed on highly stimulating grains and seeds. 
It shows itself in restlessness and difficulty in its evacua- 
tions. An occasional feed of green food of some kind 
will prevent it, or feeding soaked bread will keep the 
bowels open. Six pellets of nux vomica dissolved in a 
cup of water will effect a cure. 

FOURTH DIVISION. 



Diseases of the Skin. 



SCURF OR mange. 

This is a condition brought about by neglect, lack of 
bathing facilities, close confinement, and a dirty condi- 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

lion of the loft. The feathers are dull and staring, the 
bird restless and ;measy. On examination the body will 
be found covered with fine feathery scales even extend- 
ing out on the shafts of the feathers. Removal to clean 
quarters, a good, warm bath, and a regular daily bath 
will generally cure the patient. Give hom. remedy cal- 
carea carbonica. 

MOLTING. 

This is not a disease but a natural process of chang- 
ing their feathers which pigeons go through annually in 
the fall of the year. When in a healthy, normal condi- 
tion the change is so gradual that they are but little af- 
fected by it. But sometimes it is slow and labored, and 
the pigeon suffers accordingly, loses its appetite, and is 
generally languid and inactive, and the shafts of the 
feathers are dry, brittle, and hard. It is frequently of 
benefit to pull both flights and tails; this sometimes 
seems to change the whole condition of the pigeon, and 
the molting goes on more naturally and rapidly. Oily 
foods are good at such a time, such as flax-seed, sun- 
flower-seed, and hemp-seed. A little each day will do 
much good. If the process is slow and tardy, give hom. 
remedy calcarea carbonica. If much fever, aconite. A 
little iron tonic in the water is at such times a great aid 
to regular molting, also plenty of good food to keep up 
their strength ; this combined with the bath and regular 
exercise does more than medicine. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE OIL-GLAND. 

This is a trouble usually attending some other dis- 
eased conditions of the body, and has been previously 
mentioned. The oil hardens in the gland at the root 
of the tail and. when examined the gland appears very 
much distended and swollen. Apply warm water and 

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The Feather's Practical Pijieon Book. 



gentle pressure until the hardened matter is worked 
out ; do this two or three times each day until the gland 
resumes its normal condition and the oil is secreted as 
usual. Pulling out the entire tail-feathers, especially if 
in the fall of the year, often effects a perfect cure. Use 
internally, hepar sulphur, putting eight to ten pellets in 
the drinking-cup with clean, fresh water, changing 
water every other day until natural condition is restored. 



FIFTH DIVISION. 



Diseases of the Limbs. 



CORNS. 



This is a name given by fanciers to a disease of a 
scrofulous nature affecting the joints of wings and legs. 
It first makes its appearance in an inflamed condition of 
the joint affected. The bird will, if affected in the 
wing, drop the wing slightly, seem uneasy, and peck 
often at the joint. If in the joints of the leg, it will 
limp and frequently draw the leg up. Noticing any 
of these symptoms, catch the bird and examine it for 
the trouble. The joint will be found much inflamed, and 
sometimes hard and firm and again apparently filled 
with a watery matter. If neglected the swelling will 
enlarge until the skin breaks, and the cheesy scrofulous 
matter that has been gradually collecting presses itself 
out, and is covered with a dark-colored scab. When 
it reaches this stage the pigeon better be killed and put 
out of its misery, as it can not be cured, and while, if a 
hen, could be bred from, it is in no way advisable to 
breed from birds in such a diseased condition. If the 
disease is still neglected, and the pigeon allowed to live, 



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The Feather's Practical Pi2:eon Book. 



the matter continues to collect until, if on the leg, the 
whole thigh becomes involved,, but no humane fancier 
would allow it to progress thus far. The cause is un- 
certain, some attributing it to blows, others to rheuma- 
tism. I am inclined to think it arises from a strain or a 
blow whereby an irritation is provoked, and the bad hu- 
mors of the body induced to center at this point result- 
ing, if neglected, in the scrofulous deposit before men- 
tioned. If noticed in its early stages bathe with hot 
water, wipe dry, and then rub with strong spirits of 
camphor, or paint with iodine and acetic acid in equal 
parts, this to be done once or twice each day until de- 
cided no cure can be effected. Give internally the hom. 
remedy thuja. 

CRAMP. 

This is a trouble pigeons are not much affected with. 
It is, no doubt, caused by cold and dampness, and affects 
the limbs and feet, sometimes causing the cords to con- 
tract so as to draw the toes of the feet tightly together 
towards the sole of the foot. As a remedy, soak the feet 
in warm water and rub well the legs and feet with any 
good liniment. Give internally rhus tox. 

SIXTH DIVISION. 



Diseases of the P^gg-Organs. 

egg bound. 
This is a disease in which the egg in its passage 
through the oviduct, becom.es clogged and interrupted 
in its course. The bird sits on the nest continually, and 
when taken in the hand and examined by pressing the 
fingers against the abdomen the egg can be felt like a 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



hard, round substance. If it still remains after attempts 
have been made to dislodge it, the scrofulous cheesy 
matter so often mentioned in connection with pigeons, 
will begin to collect until it becomes firmly fixed where 
checked, and the bird becomes emaciated, helpless, and 
gradually dies. Many times a trouble of this kind will 
lead one to think of fallen gizzard, and naturally be 
at first inclined to believe it to be this trouble. Ii! this 
affliction, however, the abdomen docs not swell and be- 
come distended as in fallen gizzard, and this is the prin- 
cipal feature by which one can be distinguished from 
the other. The cause of this trouble is, no doubt, want 
of proper exercise, and an unnatural mode of living, 
causing a lack of nuiscular force in the action of the 
oviduct, also a feverish condition of same, resulting in 
a diminished secretion of mucus, which usually rend- 
ers the ;iassage of the egg to the vent easy. The egg 
in its passage downward, reaching a dry or feverish por- 
tion of the oviduct, becomes checked in its course, and 
the weakness of the muscles of the oviduct, not being 
able to force it by this point, it remains immovably 
fixed. The remedies usually applied are holding the 
abdomen and vent of the sufferer over steam, not hot 
enough to burn, and oiling a feather with sweet oil and 
introducing it into the vent. I would recommend if the 
passage to the oviduct can be determined, a small in- 
jection of warm sweet oil, the object being to supply 
the lack of mucous secretion usually furnished by a bird 
in robust condition. Sometimes a small quantity of 
New Orleans molasses is given internally, this having 
a loosening eftect. Honj. remedy gelsemium can be 
"fiven in water as before described. 



144 




BLACK-LACED BLONDINETTE. 

This bird is a descendant of the Satinette, and is Hke 
it in markings of the tail and shoulders. It is of the 
Turbit family and is altogether a very-much-thought-of 
bird for show purposes, being attractive of plumage 
and dainty is size and carriage. 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



BARRENNESS. 



It often happens that a pair of birds will mate, and 
appear perfectly satisfied with one another, and yet the 
hen never lay, although in apparent good condition and 
going to nest and sitting regularly for a time. The 
cause of this in a young hen, is too frequent laying, 
without success in hatching, whereby the ovaries are 
overtaxed and for a time they refuse to do their work. 
In such a case giving the pair a pair of eggs, allowing 
them to hatch and feed the young, many times restores 
the organs to their natural conditions, and the hen goes 
on breeding as she ought. If an old hen, however, 
while she and her mate will perform all the dvities in 
the care of the >oung devolving upon them, she never 
comes back to a laying condition. Such a hen, unless 
a fine exhibition specimen, should be killed, and not as 
in some instances has been done, sold to an unsophis- 
ticated fancier, who would look in vain for any progeny 
from his purchase. 



SEVENTH DIVISION. 



FRACTURES AND WOUNDS. 

Broken wings and limbs, while not common, some- 
times are met with in pigeon breeding. If a bird is 
found suiifering from such an accident, one wants to 
take into consideration whether it is worth wasting time 
and experiment upon. If worth saving, examine and 
see to what extent it is injured. If a good, clean break, 
have some one assist you, first providing splints of 
pasteboard and wrapping material ; then unite the brok- 
en portions as near as they originally were as possible, 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

apply the splints each side and wrap with the bandage 
quite firmly. After this is done have ready some plaster- 
of-paris and smear that all over the bandage, holding it 
until it dries, this when set will keep the hmb in place. 
This can be kept on until it is probable that the bone has 
united, which ought to be in the course of two weeks ; it 
can then be carefully removed, and if well done the 
bird will be found but little the worse for the injury. If 
the wing is broken it can be served in the same way, but 
the wing should be so secured to the body that it can not 
bear its own weight. This can be done by wrapping the 
bandage around the body, first laying the broken wing 
close to the body and including that in the wrapping. 
If the limb or wing is broken at the joint, there is little 
need of trying to reset it, as, if healed, the wing or leg 
would always be stiff, and a lame or stiff-winged pig- 
eon is a blemish to any well-conducted loft. 

BROKEN BEAKS. 

Pigeons' beaks sometimes are broken by quarrelling 
and accident. These can be repaired by properly ap- 
plying short, thin splints on the top and sides. They 
soon heal when splints can be removed, and if well done 
there will be but little alteration in the shape of the beak. 
It will be necessary to feed the sufferer for awhile by 
hand, and it should be kept in a quiet place away from 
companions. Give, in this case, as for broken bones, 
one or two daily doses of aconitum, three pellets at a 
dose. This will tend to allay fever if any arise. 

TORN CROPS AND OTHER FLESH WOUNDS. 

It frequently happens with pigeons flying at large, es- 
pecially Homing Pigeons, that they come home often 
badly wounded by hawks and the murderous gun. As 
soon as discovered, examine the wound, washing it care- 



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The Feather's Practical Pic^eon Book. 



fully with warm, soft water and a little carbolic soap. 
When thoroughly cleansed, remove the feathers about 
the wound, and if possible to do so, draw the edges to- 
gether holding them in place by strips of adhesive plas- 
ter. If the nature of the wound will not permit of this, 
then dress with some healing ointment, bandaging if 
possible, and keep the pigeon secluded from its mates, 

INSECT PESTS. 

Pigeons are infested at times wath a number of para- 
sitic pests. They are the results, in a measure, of a 
neglect of proper cleanliness in the loft, and a lack of 
bathing facilities. Lofts frequently cleaned and white- 
washed and birds well supplied with bathing-water are 
seldom annoyed with, lice or tleas. We may excuse the 
novice whose loft becomes once infested with lice, or an 
ignorance of these pests may lead to their getting the 
upper hand, but after one experience there is no excuse 
for a recurrence of the evil. The fancier who has once 
had a personal visit from them and felt the torment of 
their crawling up the back, between the shoulders and 
in the hair at the back of the neck, will be very likely 
to remember it, and ever after use every available means 
to rid his premises of such an irritating plague. There 
are five different varieties of these vermin. They are 
known as lice, feather-lice, mites, tieas, and ticks. 

LICE 

Are usually the result of a neglected condition, and a 
bird in a delicate and sickly condition wall generally be 
found to be more or less infested with them. To birds 
in a healthy and robust condition and that have fre- 
quent access to the bathing-dish they are comparatively 
unknown, as they are lovers of nlth, and only thrive 
where cleanliness is a stranger. Birds with short bills 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book 



B' 



like Barbs, Almond Tumblers, Owls, Turbits, and Ori- 
ental Frills are more apt to suffer from their attacks 
than long-billed birds. Should they make their appear- 
ance among well-kept birds, they soon make it evident 
by their restlessness and their constantly seeking for 
the intruders among their feathers. The louse is about 
the size of an ordinary pin's-head, and is of a yellowish 
gray color, is very active, and where few in number are 
hard to detect, as they run rapidly from place to place. 
Their favorite location, however, is about the base of 
the neck, and among the feathers at the vent of the 
pigeon. If their presence is suspected, here is the place 
to look for them. A little camphorated oil ai^piied 
around the vent and a plentiful dusting of Persian in- 
sect-powder along the sides at the root of the tail and at 
the base of the neck will relieve the infested bird. It 
will also be well to examine these localities for "nits" 
or eggs, and when found, pluck the feathers out and 
burn them. An occasional future examination will be a 
safeguard against their attacks. Should it be found 
at any time that the old birds are being annoyed by 
them, carefully examine the young squabs in the nest, 
for they are liable to suffer more from their attacks than 
the old ones. If found, apply the same treatment to 
them as to the old, and never leave one of the pests 
alive that can be hunted out. In applying the powder 
and oil, it will be well to hold the sufferers over a white 
cloth or paper, so that when the lice leave the pigeon 
they can be destroyed, otherwise some may escape, only 
to bred and become again a pest. A little naphtha in 
place of the camphorated oil can be used; it evaporates 
quickly but is death to insects. 



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The Feather's Practical Pisreon Book. 



FEATHER-LICE. 

These are an entirely different insect from the louse 
just described, being long and thin in form and of a 
grayish color, the head and neck being slightly darker 
than the body. As their name intimates, they inhabit 
the feathers of the pigeon, and are supposed to be rather 
a benefit than otherwise. As thev are seldom seen ex- 
cept during warm weather they are supposed to devour 
the fine, fluffy material at the base of the lesser feathers, 
and thus relieve the pigeon of its supcr-abimdant coat 
so kindly provided by Nature for its protection through 
the colder months of the year. As the molting season 
comes on, they disappear with the falling feathers, and 
are seldom seen again until summer of next year. They 
are not much noticed on well, strong pigeons, but on 
sickly pigeons they show plainly, also when a pigeon 
dies. The reason of this is probably, as the bodily 
warmth of the pigeon is gone, they crawl to the outside 
of the feathers for the purpose of seeking more con- 
genial quarters. Their motions are very slow and as it 
takes some time to change their location, they are plainly 
seen. In a neglected loft they will sometimes become so 
plentiful as to be an annoyance to the pigeons, especially 
among the crested and hooded varieties. If they seem 
to be uncomfortable from this cause, a plentiful dusting 
of Persian insect-powder will reduce them in numbers. 

MITES. 

This insect is the worst annoyance in the way of a 
pest that the pigeon keeper has to contend with. They 
are about the size and color of a grain of maw or poppy- 
seed, rhe microscope shows them to be similar to a 
small crab, and like that shell-fish, they travel sideways. 
They multiply rapidly, and when they once get the up- 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



per hand they fairly swarm. They select for their hid- 
ing-places the cracks and crevices of the loft, in the 
walls, about the perches, about the nesting-places, under 
the nest-pans, and even in the nesting-material itself. 
They are not much seen during the days, but at night 
they sally out in hordes, making the life of the adult 
and the squab miserable. They sometimes become such 
an annoyance that pigeons having their liberty seek 
other quarters. After a night's incursion, if an examina- 
tion be made of their haunts, they will be found clustered 
together, probably for warmth, and red with the blood 
of their victims. The young squabs suffer at times so 
much as to retard their growth, and the old birds desert 
both nests and young. They thrive like the feather- 
louse, chiefly during hot weather, and this is the time 
to watch for them, and on the first indications of their 
presence cut their career short. Make an examination 
of loft early in the sunmier, and keep up the supervision 
while the warm weather lasts. The first indications of 
their presence will be a little line of bluish-gray dust, 
seen on the edge of some joint or crack. A closer ex- 
amination will reveal a colony of the little villains. At 
once take the kerosene-oil can and fill every crack and 
crevice full of the oil. This will eradicate them as ef- 
fectuall}^ as anything one can find, as this oil is death to 
all insect life. Carefully examine the nests and nest-pans 
and if any are foimd about them give them the same 
dose. Frequent observations will free the loft entirely 
from them until the season is past for them to annoy and 
make life a burden. 

FLEAS. 

Sometimes, though seldom, a loft will have a visita- 
tion from fleas. They are much like the fleas that an- 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



noy the clog and the cat, but smaller and of a shiny 
black. They frequent the nests chiefl}-, and while they 
suck the blood of the squab do not seem to annoy the old 
birds. Persian inesct-powder makes short work of them. 
If discovered, burn the nesting-material and sprinkle the 
powder in the new material and about the nest or nest- 
pan. Kerosene will be also found effectual. 

TICKS. 

This is an insect not very common, but none the less 
an annoyance when it makes an attack. They usually 
fasten about the liead of the bird, and are great blood- 
suckers, frequently causing the death of the young 
squabs. They are very quick in their motions, and may 
be seen occasionally darting through the feathers of the 
birds. They are about the size of a bed-bug, and I am 
inclined to think have given rise to the idea that pigeons 
draw these bugs to a house. But this tick I mention I 
have never known to annoy the human family. Per- 
sian insect-powder will clear them out. 

There is another bug found at times very plentifully 
about ill-kept pigeon-houses, h is about the size of a 
small grain of buckwheat and of a dull brown color. It 
is, as far as my observation goes, harmless, never troub- 
ling the pigeons, and onlv desiring to be let alone. It 
comes through the warm weather, and wdiile to all ap- 
pearances doing no harm, is repulsive and suggestive of 
a lack of care. 

* ^'c ^ 

In this connection, while treating of vermin, I may 
mention the four-legged vermin that occasionally visit 
a pigeon loft ; namely, rats and mice. These are capable 
of causing great loss to the fancier, and need to be 
guarded against as carefully as the insects. If a loft is 



152 





NU^. 

The striking feature of the Nun is the great contrast 
in color; the body and shoulders being pure white with 
face, bib. and tail black. It is the size of an ordinary 
pigeon, compact and graceful. Head and beak are like 
a flying Tumbler but in proportion are heavier. i he 
important ooint of this bird is the shell which rises 
from the base of the skull extending on either side to 
the level of the eyes, full feathered, and upright, ris- 
ing perpendicularly at back of head. The flights are 
black with nine or ten feathers each; the eye, pearl, 
with the cere flne, small and dark colored. 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 

properly constructed they can tind no entrance ; but once 
they find a vulnerable spot they are sure to make an 
entrance, and 1 have known rats in a single night to kill 
as many as forty high-priced birds. Alice eat the eggs 
and food and occasionally, though seldom, will attack 
the squabs. A good preventive against such attacks is 
to bring up a kitten in the loft, and when well grown 
it will keep out all the rats and mice, and being reared 
among the pigeons will never molest them and the pig- 
eons in turn never seem afraid of the cat, although slie 
may walk all about the nest-pans and young birds. 
Taken very small and kept always in the loft the}' seem 
to enjoy the company of the pigeons, and w^hen full 
grown seem rather to prefer the loft to any other 
place. I have seen properly-educated cats quietly sleep- 
ing in a vacant nest, with the pigeons sporting all about 
it as unconcerned as though there were nothing but pig- 
eons in the room. I was forcibly reminded of the scrip- 
tural prophecy of how the lion and the lamb should lie 
down together, and interested to note what training and 
association would do. 




154 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Pigeons as Food. 

As a delicate article of food, pigeons enter largely into 
the dietary of the human family. Especially is this so in 
the cities and larger towns. As many are aware, then- 
sands of pigeons are sacrificed at the traps every year 
in testing the skill of the amateur sportsman. These 
pigeons, as a rule, go to the handler at the traps, and are 
by him gathered up and sent to market, where they are 
eagerly sought by stewards of the clubs and hotels, by 
buyers for restaurant use, and by caterers for the private 
family. Here they are served up in shape of pies, stews, 
broils, potted pigeon, and have even been known to dci 
duty as broiled quail and woodcock, when the customer 
was not well up in the gastronomic arts. 

The pigeons thus sacrificed v/hile in the main com- 
posed chiefly of the common kind, frequently, however, 
have a sprinkling of birds of more aristocratic blood, 
that have unfortunately been born with blemishes so 
marked as to render them unsatisfactory to the fan- 
cier's eye. Being strong and lively they have been 
turned in with the common herd, on the principle that 
the money they would bring was of more value to the 
breeder than the satisfaction he would get from them 
Vv^hen served up at his own table. 

Consequently in all large lots we often find Antwerps, 
Magpies, Owls, Archangels, Swallows, and other good 
flying varieties that the experienced eye quickly detects, 
but that answer the purpose of the marksman as well 
as pigeons of a more plebeian origin, and that when 



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The Feather's, Practical Piiieou Book. 



placed in the market show no trace of their bluer blood. 
While full-grown pigeons find a ready market, especially 
when game is scarce, it is the squab about four to five 
weeks old that is most in demand and of which there is 
rarely a glut. That these can be raised at a profit there 
is no question, and how to do it is what we propose to 
show. 

A loft or breeding-room, sucli as I have described for 
fancy pigeons will answer for squab raising also. The 
same care should be given in the matter of cleanliness, 
feeding, watering, bathing, and exercising, as with 
fancy pigeons, as the object is to induce the breeding 
birds to produce as man}' pairs in a season as possible, 
for herein lies .ill the profit of squab raising. In carry- 
ing out a systematic plan of breeding, the selection of 
breeders is a very important item and one it takes a little 
time to accomplish, for there are several points to con- 
sider in their selection. Throwing a lot of common 
birds promiscuously together into the breeding-room, 
while they will no doubt mate, breed, and produce 
squabs, is not the correct way to begin a successful car- 
eer as a squab-raiser. 

The first step I would advise after preparing the 
necessary accommodations, would be to select large, 
light-colored birds for breeders, as the squabs they will 
produce will be light-colored and bring at least 50 per 
cent more in market than squabs from small, dark- 
colored birds. Pure white birds for breeders would be 
the best, but it is not always possible to get a number 
of these together at first, but it should be the aim of the 
squab-raiser to work towards this end, so that in time 
his flock may be all white. 

I have said light-colored birds ; by that I mean those 
in which white as a color predominates. By large birds 



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The Feather's Practical Pio-eon Book. 



I do not wish to be understood as meaning Carriers, 
Pouters, or Runts, as they are, as a rule, poor breeders, 
although if Runts could be relied upon, they would pro- 
duce a squab that would be far and away above all other 
squabs for table use : but by large birds I mean iarge- 
sized common pigeons, or crosses between common pig- 
eons and some of the large birds. Persons living near 
large cities have opportunities for selections of such 
birds that persons remote from large places do not 
have, they being frequently found in the poultry and 
bird-stores as well as markets of these places. 

But to start a flock, select the largest light-colored 
birds to be had in the country round about, then by in- 
troducmg White Carriers, White Duchesse, and heavy- 
bodied White Pouters, a cross can be made that will 
eventually give just the size and kind of birds most de- 
sired for the purpose aimed at. Another step towards 
perfecting such a flock is the selection of the best feed- 
ers and most careful nurses among the lot, discarding 
all of the poor and unreliable feeders. These are soon 
learned and should be disposed of and their places sup- 
plied by others until the required number of proper 
quality is reached. 

As I have said, it will take some time to accomplish 
this, but while working towards this end the enterprise 
can be made to pay its way, as some squabs will be 
raised even by poor feeders. Such an outfit as this con- 
nected with a poultry-farm, will add much to the income 
and be in a direct line with poultry breeding. 

As with successful egg-farming, constant attention is 
required to see that the pigeons are living harmoniously 
together, that each pair keeps to its own locality, is 
feeding its young properly, and is regularly supplied 
with proper food and clean water. A flock of beautiful 



157 



The Feather's Practical Pioeon Book. 



white pigeons, although of no particular variety, is a 
pretty sight about any home, and so the owner has not 
only a source of income but a constant source of pleas- 
ure in the pleasing addition they furnish to the home 
surroundings. 

Squabs are most in demand during January, Febru- 
ary, and March, and owing to their scarcity bring then 
the best prices of the year, say from $3.50 to $4 per 
dozen for nice, large, fat and light-colored birds. The 
time has been when they brought $7 .and $8 per pair, but 
that was long ago, when every one had "money to burn." 
The advantage of raising light-colored squabs as 
against the darker ones can be seen in the great differ- 
ence they command in price. Good, fat squabs should 
weigh from six to seven pounds to the dozen. In years 
gone by there was no systematic attention given to rais- 
ing squabs for the market ; they were picked up a few 
pairs here, and a few pairs there. Now there are those 
who make a regular business of it, keeping from 1,500 
to 2.000 birds for breeders. 

These are usually divided into colonies and treated 
much after the manner recommended in the first of this 
article. Squabs are sent to market in packages of one- 
half dozen each, undrawn or with their intestines un- 
disturbed, usually packed in ice, and when held up for 
examination are suggestive of a delicacy that having 
once been tried is ever remembered. They are largely 
used for invalids who need tempting, appetizing, and 
delicate morsels, and that they fill the bill many young 
mothers can testify who, w^hile convalescing, have 
found them to be the only food having any attraction for 
their fastidious appetites. By squabs is meant the young 
pigeon up to six or eight weeks old, nearly or quite 
feathered. But young pigeons are tender and delicate 



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The Feather's Practical Pisfeon Book. 



food up to six months old. After this, when they be- 
come mature and fitted for the duties of maternity, the 
meat becomes firmer and dryer. Although flying about 
and apparently of mature age, they may still utter the 
call of the squab known as "squealing," and at this time 
may be separated from the general flock and put 
through a course of fattening by which they are made 
as fat and delicate as though just from the nest. 

The French are adepts in this practice, as they are 
also in the fattening of all poultry. The food generally 
given is millet, with a slight mixture of hemp-seed, 
tares, and very small peas. These are allowed to soak 
in water until swollen, when the expert takes a small 
quantity in his mouth, takes the young pigeon in his 
hand, inserting its bill into a corner of the movtth, and by 
the assistance of the tongue inducing it to take the soft- 
ened grain. It is soon taught to enjoy this plan of 
feeding, and the crop is quickly filled. 

Pigeons treated in this manner soon become plump 
and round and make most excellent eating. In place of 
millet, hemp, etc., the variety of oatmeal known as pin- 
head oatmeal, combined with coarsely ground cornmeal, 
would make superior material for such feeding. 

They should be kept confined and not allowed to fly, 
and may be fed two or three times a day at regular in- 
tervals, experience teaching what intervals are most de- 
sirable. Persons desiring to pursue such a course of 
feeding, and living near large markets, could, by fre- 
quenting the wholesale departments during the summer 
and early fall, find plenty of material to experiment 
with, as every lot of pigeons sent to market at such times 
contains more or less young birds, and most of them 
could be greatly improved, in fact doubled in value, by 
a systematic course of feeding. 



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The Featber's Practical Pigeon Book. 



A little experience will teach one to select the young 
pigeons, even though they have stopped squealing. .V 
glance at the bill, the feet, or the plumage will soon de- 
termine the age. Xo doubt any one located so as to be 
able to collect these pigeons from the markets would 
find it more profitable than the business of raising the 
squabs from the egg. In fact, man\- of the pigeons fat- 
tened as I recommend could not be told from the squab 
just from the nest. 

In tliis connection, it is interesting to note the ideas 
that people of one hundred years ago entertained re- 
garding the edible and medicinal properties of pigeons. 
One v/riter says, "The fiesh is n(it so easv of digestion as 
that of chickens," and another. " That the eating of their 
flesh is profitable against the plague, insomuch that they 
who make it their C(^nstant or ordinary food are seldom 
seized with pestilential distempers." Others commend it 
against the palsy or trembling, also say "It is of great 
use and advantage to them that are dim-sighted, and 
that the flesh of young pigeons is restorative and of 
good use to such as are in consumption, and to recruit 
the strength of such as are getting up or nearly recov- 
ered from some great sickness. It is indeed savory and 
good food, and not much inferior to the most esteemed." 

For outward application they say, "That the anus of 
a live pigeon applied to the biting of a serpent, viper, 
or rattle-snake, draws away the poison and cures the 
sick, being renewed as often as the pigeon dies. Ap- 
plied to the soles of the feet in a fever, it draws away the 
fever and helps the megrims or headache. Cut up alive 
and applied to the place pained, eases the pain and 
draws the malignity if any be ; for the vital spirit yet 
remaining in the hot flesh and blood do insinuate them- 
selves through the pores of the skin, into the blood of 



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The Feather's Practical Pis];eon Book. 



the sick person, now dispirited and ready to stagnate, 
enduring it with new Hfe and vigor."' 

This last is somewhat akin to the modern idea of tran- 
fusion of blood, and may have been the source from 
which this idea originated. Thus we see that long ago 
the pigeon was esteemed for its practical qualities and 
made more useful to mankind even than it is at present. 
As this ancient manner of applying the pigeon for cura- 
tive purposes has long since passed into disuse, we have 
no way of proving the truth of these assertions except 
by an actual test, and until the test is made must accept 
these statements in good faith, believing the writers to 
have been honest in their convictions. 




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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 




POINTS OF A PIGEON. 

1 Beak. ^8 Tippet. 15 Keel. 

2 Wattle or Nostril. 9 Eye Cere. . 16 Bars. 

3 Frontal. 10 Cheek or Jaw. • 17 Rump. 

4 Occiput. • 11 Saddle. 18 Flights (primaries) 

5 Back Skull. 12 Shoulder. 19 Tail. 

6 Throat. 13 Sides. 20 Thigh. 

7 Neck. ' 14 Breast. 21 Hock. 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



TECHNICAL TERMS. 

Arrow-Pointed." — In the form of an arrow. Ex- 
ample, the penciHng or lacing of a Blondinette. 

Bald or Baldhead. — The white head of a colored 
pigeon. Example, the Bald Tumbler. 

'Beard. — A clearly defined V-shaped patch of white 
featliers on the throat, directly under the lower mandible. 
Example, the Long-faced Beard Tumbler. 

Bars (wing). — The bands of black or other colors 
across the lower part of the wing. Example, the Blue 
Dragoon. 

Bar (tail). — The colored band at extremity of tail. 

Bib. — The colored feathering running in clearly de- 
fined outline below the head, along the throat and upper 
part of the breast. Example, the Nun. 

B'EETLE-BROW. — Overhanging eye-wattles, as seen in 
soft-eyed Carriers. 

Blaze. — A white mark on a colored pigeon (gener- 
ally on the forehead.) Example, the Blaze-face. 

Bishoped. — A patch of white feathers at the butt 
end of the wing. 

Box-beak. — A beak both mandibles of which are 
uniform in strength and shape and close fitting. Ex- 
ample, the Carrier. 

Bull-eye. — An eye, the iris, as well as the pupil of 
which, is very dark in color. Example, the White 
Dragoon. 

Bolting-eye. — An eye that is prominent, wild look- 
ing, and staring. Example, a young Carrier. 

Barrel-headed. — An elongated skull, free from an- 
gles. Example, the Show Homer. 

Broken (in feather). — An indiscriminate mixture of 

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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



variously colored feathers. Example, the Almond Tum- 
bler. 

Broken (in eye). — An erratic coloring of the iris. 

Cap. — A colored covering at the top of the head above 
the eye. Example, the Swallow. 

Cere. — The skin-like substance around the eye. Ex- 
ample, the Dragoon. 



A POINT CREST 



W-c^ 




■„.....^,„%HELL CREST 



m^- 



-DEWLAP g', 
^OR GULLET f; '^,, 



''III,. ^^.i^^\ / 







Chain. — An inverted growth of feathering on each 
side of the neck. Example, the Jacobin. 

Chuck. — The V-shaped patch of white under the 
lower mandible. Example, the Beard Tumbler. 

Chequer. — Two distinct shades of one color. Ex- 
ample, the Chequered Dragoon. 

Crescent. — A half-moon shaped mark upon the 
breast. Example, the .Suabian. 

Crest. — An inverted growth of feathers at the back of 
the head. Example, the Turbit. 

Crop. — The craw or stomach. 

Clean-leg. — Free from feathering below the hock. 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



Clean-cut. — Evenly defined. 

Down -FACED. — Downward contortion of the beak. 

Dewlap. — (See Gullet). 

Carriage. — The natural position of a pigeon. 

Condition. — Robust health and perfection of plum- 
age. 

Eye-wattle. — The fleshy excrescence around the eye 
(chiefly applied to Carriers and Barbs). 

Frill. — A fringe of feathers on the breast growing in 
inverted position from the throat downwards. Exam- 
ple, the Turbit. 

Feather-legged. — Feathered below the hocks. Ex- 
ample, the Blondinette. 




COVER'. 



-The remaining long 



Flights (outer or primary). — The first ten feathers 
of each wing. 

Flights (inner or secondary), 
feathers of the wing. 

Foul-thighed. — Colored feathers on white thighs. 

Frog-shaped. — Depressed in crown, but free from 
aneles and not flat. 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



Gay. — Showing too much white (as applied to the 
crop markings of a Pouter, and the shoulder-mark- 
ings of a Mottled Tumbler). 

Girth. — The waist of the Pouter. 

Gullet. — An abnormal development of loose skin 
extending from the lower mandible to the top of the 
neck. Example, the Owl. 

Hackle. — The lower feathers at the back of the neck. 

Handkerchief Markings. — A triangular shaped 
patch of white feathers on the back of a colored pigeon. 
Example, the Mottled Tumbler. 



GROUSE 



MEDIUM MUFF 



Heavy Feathered 




Hood. — The upper covering of the head. Example, 
the Jacobin. 

Jew-wattle. — The wattle on the lower mandible. 

Keel. — The lower part of the breast. 

Lacing or Penciling. — Clearly defined markings, 
round the outer edge of a feather. Example, the Blondi- 
nette. 

Limb. — The leg and thigh (as applied to the Pouter.) 

Mandible. — A portion of the beak. 

Mane. — The ridge of feathers at the back of the neck. 
Example, the Jacobin. 

Mealy. — Undecided color, generally applied to Sil- 
ver-Dun Antwerps and Homers. 



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The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



Muffed. — A covering of feathers on the hocks, legs 
and feet. Example, the Trumpeter. 

Peak. — Pointed feathers at the back of the head. Ex- 
ample, the Turbit. 

PiNCHED-EYED. — Irregularity of outline (as applied 
to the eye-cere or eye-wattle). Example, the Dragoon. 

Profile. — The side face. 

Rose (head). — The feathering on the frontal of the 
Trumpeter. 

Rose (breast). — The rose-like feathering on the breast 
of the Owl. 

Rose (feather). — The shoulder-markings of the Pou- 




ter, Mottled Trumpeter, and Tumbler ; the same term 
is also applied to the radiating point of the hood, mane 
and chain of the Jacobin. 

Rosette. — Feathering on the breast, in the form of a 
rose. Example, the Owl. 

Shell. — The shell-shaped growth of feathers at the 
back of the head. Example, the Swallow. 

Snakey. — Serpentine in shape. Example, the head 
and neck of the Magpie. 

Snip. — A clearly-defined, elongated spot of white, 
generally on the forehead. Example, the Snip (German 
Toy). 

167 



The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book. 



Saddle. — The upper portion of the back. 

Sxor. — An abrupt termination of the skull at the base 
of the beak. Example, the Short-faced Tumbler. 

Skull. — The upper portion of the head. 

Shod. — (As applied to the Fantail), detlecture of the 
lower feathers of the tail. 

Spangled. — A "broken" arrangement of feathering. 

Splash. — An indiscriminate mixture of several 
colors. Example, the Splash Short-faced Tumbler. 

Spot. — A colored mark on a white pigeon, generally 
on the frontal or forehead. 

Solid Color. — (See self-color). 

Squab. — A very young pigeon, unfeathered. 

Squeaker. — A (feathered) young pigeon, just learn- 
ing to feed. 

Stockings. — The feathering on the thighs and legs. 
Example, the Pouter. 

Slobbered (as applied to the cut of a B'aldhead Tum- 
bler). — hidistinct and uneven. 

Self-Colored. — One color only. 

Spindle-beaked. — A beak that is long and thin. 

Tuft. — An inverted growth of feathers behind the 
wattle. Example, the Priest. 

Toys. — Varieties of which color and markings are 
the chief properties. 

Vent. — The passage from the body. 

Veil. — Applied to the head-markings of the Nun. 

Wattle (beak). — The fleshy excrescence on the beak. 

Whiskers. — The feathers between the root of the 
beak and the base of the eye. 

Whole Feather. — A self-colored pigeon. 



168 



Ml 5 1903 



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